Hidden Power in a Shy Flower
by PhantasyDreamer
Summary: Hinata has something to prove. She's in love with Naruto but unfortunately he doesn't seem to feel the same way. What happens when she's thrown into an arrange marriage with her father's worst enemy?
1. Revelations

_PhantasyDreamer: Hey there once again. I'm back once again and this time with a new Naruto story. This story is centered on Hinata and Naruto. This is my first attempt of writing a new story that includes Hinata as the main character, so please go easy on me. It took me a good couple of weeks to write this so go easy on me. _

_As usual, I don't own Naruto just the plot any characters I decide to throw in. Enjoy and don't forget to review!!!_

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_Hidden Power in a Shy Flower _

_Summary: Hinata has something to prove. She's in love with Naruto but unfortunately he doesn't seem to feel the same way. What happens when she's thrown into an arrange marriage with her father's worst enemy? Will she go through with it or will she show everyone that she's not so shy anymore? Hinata xNaruto_

_Chapter 1: Revelations _

_Dear Naruto,_

_I must say that I apologize for my outrageous behavior a few months ago. I don't know if you've realized it but I've been avoiding you ever since that incident. I am so ashamed of the way I acted in front of you. It was so embarrassing now that I think about it. I just can't say for sure what came over me but I guess I just wanted to impress you. Over the years we've become a bit closer as friends and my feelings for you have grown even more than before. I'm not as shy around you as much, I don't even faint anymore when I come in contact with you and I don't stutter at all. I've just become a bit more confident. I feel much more comfortable around you and hanging with someone like you…someone with such a vibrant personality such as yours just brightens my day. _

_I know I may not be the type of girl you're interested in like Sakura, but I hope you can see pass that and give me a chance. I know I can make you happy and I admire you so much for your courage and determination. It has always inspired me to be strong and to never give up even when I feel unworthy of being the heir to the Hyuuga Clan's main branch. You have taught me so much over the years with your bravery and loyalty for others and for some reason I can't keep my feelings inside anymore. That's why I'm writing this letter to tell you...to tell you that I love you. That's right!! I, Hinata Hyuuga love you, Naruto Uzumaki and I hope you can one day return my feelings. If you feel the same way please meet me at the old Academy tomorrow at 4 p.m. _

_With love _

_Hinata Hyuuga_

The young purple haired girl folded the lilac paper and stuck it into a white envelope immediately. She licked the edges, sealed the envelope and placed a light kiss on it.

'_Oh Naruto, I hope you feel the same way I do.'_ she thought sadly, getting out of her bed and heading down the large stairs of the main branch household.

She took quick glances around the room and hallway trying to make sure that her father didn't notice her or anyone else in the household. As soon as the coast was clear she immediately slipped out of the house and headed towards the large gates. A few feet away she could see the guards standing by the gates on the look out for intruders. Without warning she created quick hand seals and transformed into the form of Neji Hyuuga, her cousin. She walked towards the guards boldly while they turned their attention towards her.

"Your purpose for leaving the compound?" one of the guards asked staring her with his mysteriously dark brown eyes.

She frowned in the form of Neji while giving them a harsh glare that only Neji could give. She curled her fist tightly while a soft gentle breeze blew the long brown hair behind her back.

"Not that it's of any concern to you but my uncle has sent me out on an errand." she replied with Neji's deep voice.

"At this time? It's almost ten o'clock. Besides, where could you possibly be going?" the other asked obviously not believing a word she had said.

Hinata exhaled deeply. They were actually smarter than they looked. However she knew she could outsmart them anytime.

"Well if you don't believe me just go and talk to him. But you know better than I do that he's just going to get mad at your incompetence."

The two guards gave each other an unsure look and cringe at the thought of what their master would do to them for not following his orders. Without arguing they opened the gate doors for Hinata and she quickly escaped or in a sense ran out of the compound and onto the street. She rushed down the dusty road trying her best to reach towards Naruto's apartment which was a far distance from her home.

'_I'm so excited!_' she thought still running at incredible speed while clutching the note deeply in her grasp, _'I just hope his answer is yes.' _

She ran as fast as she could with her long mid-back purple hair flowing in the wind. She had returned to her original form as soon as she was out of sight. She didn't want to stay transformed in the form of Neji and waste most of her chakra. In her opinion it was best that she remained in her original form even if she was noticed. After sometime she passed by a lake and immediately stopped. Breathing heavily she stared at the sight before her. It was a place where she had spent most of her time alone when she was either sad or depressed. But one day it wasn't so lonely when Naruto had mysteriously dropped by and decided to have a picnic with her. That happened a few weeks before her embarrassing incident in front of Naruto.

That day was the best day of her life and she would never forget it. Naruto had finally noticed her even more than he did when she was twelve years old. And now that she was nineteen he had barely acknowledged her only when they were out on missions. Sometimes he would meet her at his favorite ramen shop and at other times he would just ignore her completely focusing more on retrieving his lost teammate but she did understand. However, there were times when she didn't like the new Naruto and his cocky attitude and even the way he would flirt nonstop with all the girls he met. But in her mind she knew he was still the same knucklehead ninja he was when he was a boy. She turned to leave and then stopped dead in her tracks. The figure in front of her had startled her and she knew now that she was in deep trouble.

"Why are you here Hinata?" the deep voice came causing her to jump.

She looked up at the silver purplish orbs that was an exact print of hers and sighed deeply.

"I-I was just taking a walk." she whispered, turning her eyes away from his death glare.

"You shouldn't be out here. If your father finds out about this I'm going to be the one that takes the blame." he muttered looking down at her with a look that could kill.

"No!!" she yelled desperately, "Please don't say anything Neji. I promise I'll be home soon. I just want to meet a friend that's all."

He sighed relaxing his muscles for a moment while closing his eyes. Hinata just knew how to get on his nerves. Why was she putting his chances of proving himself to the family on the line?

"Neji, please." she gave him a pleading look while he kept his eyes closed.

After a few seconds he let off a sigh, opening his pearl eyes.

"Fine. Just tell me the real reason you're out here and then I'll leave."

She frowned hiding the note immediately on impulse behind her back.

"I'm sorry I can't."

"Why not?" he asked arching an eyebrow.

"It's personal." she muttered side stepping him and getting ready to leave.

"Girl stuff I see." he replied turning around to see her back facing him, "Great just be back home in ten minutes. I'll see how long I can distract your father."

She gave him a heartwarming smile, "Thank you Neji."

Walking further away from him with a smile on her face she moved her hands to her chest and realized that something was missing. In an instant she spun around to see Neji holding her note that was addressed to Naruto. Her silver purplish eyes widen in fear as she saw him reading through the envelope using his kekei genkai, the bloodline limit technique, known as the Byakugan.

'_Neji, no.'_ she thought bitterly, tears forming in the corner of her eyes.

_NARUTO'S APARTMENT_

"Alright!!" a tall young flaky blond haired boy yelled while walking out of his restroom.

He rubbed his white towel into his slightly damp blond hair while only wearing green shorts and a navy blue shirt. He walked towards his semi-kitchen and took out his instant ramen from the refrigerator, leaving the towel on the table. As fast as he could he heated it up and then placed it into a bowl.

"Man, I'm so tired." he yawned while stretching a little.

He had taken a long bath after training for several hours today. His body ached all over but that didn't matter to him, he was improving and soon on his way to becoming the next Hokage in a few years. He frowned as he stared at his bowl of ramen. For some reason he didn't feel quite hungry anymore, he felt a bit full. He couldn't understand why he felt this way but he figured it was because he was worried about his ex teammate, Sasuke Uchiha.

After Sasuke had left the Leaf Village a few years ago nothing had been the same for his team, Team 7. Things had changed so drastically that even now he was still trying to adjust to the change. During the years Sakura and him had become much closer as friends and she was even nicer in fact to him and even more forgiven and concerned about his well being. And at times he was contented with it but he knew deep in his heart that she just missed Sasuke and so did he. He felt a connection between him and Sakura and he wished with all his might that she could one day return his feelings but she would always turn him down gently. However, that wasn't stopping him from trying and trying again. He was determined to make Sakura his girlfriend one day.

A light knock came at the door breaking him out of his thoughts.

"Man, who could be visiting me at a time like this."

The nineteen year old blond raked his flaky hair while heading towards the door with a grumpy expression on his face. As soon as he opened the door he gasped at the sight before him. There standing before him was his teammate, Sakura Haruno dressed in a beautiful red dress. It was a plain spaghetti strap dress that extended to her knees. She also wore a small golden necklace and a matching bracelet on her right hand where her small black purse was tucked in.

She smiled vibrantly at him while brushing her short pink hair out of her face, letting her emerald eyes to come in view.

"Naruto, I have great news!!" she yelled tackling him into a hug.

The young blond was taken by surprise and barely had time to brace himself for impact and before he knew what happened he fell to the floor with a loud thump while his pink haired teammate lay on top of him.

"Sakura!!" he whined as she immediately got up, helping him onto his feet as well.

The blond gave his friend a happy yet annoyed look wondering why she had crashed into him like that. Not that he mind but he was very tired and his body still ached all over. Besides that, it was mostly because she had gained the incredible strength from the Hokage and now her collisions with someone would cause great damage to them. Luckily in his case he wasn't hurt too badly. He rubbed his head instantly and she gave him an apologetic smile.

"Sorry Naruto, I'm just so excited."

"About what?" he asked while closing the door behind her.

She walked further into his small apartment and took a seat on his bean bag. The young blond stared his teammate with curious eyes. Something was rather strange about her behavior. After a short moment of silence she finally spoke while Naruto took a seat on his small couch.

"The Hokage just gave us permission to go out and retrieve Sasuke!!" she screamed grinning widely.

Naruto could see the excitement in her eyes and he could tell that she was very happy about the news. But it was not that he wasn't thrilled about the idea it was just that he was feeling very sad lately about his strength. He didn't know if he would be able to defeat Sasuke in order to retrieve him and return back to the Leaf Village in peace but he knew he would have to find a way, if not for himself but for Sakura.

'_I've got to get stronger! It's the only way I can beat Sasuke and bring him back to the village and make Sakura happy again.'_ he thought clasping her fingers together in deep thought.

"So, what do you think?" his pink haired teammate asked breaking him out of his deep thought.

"It's great!!" he yelled chuckling loudly obviously taking her by surprise.

'_Naruto's so weird. One minute he's sad then he's happy.'_ she thought getting off of the beam bag and making her way to sit next to him on the small brown couch, _'I hope he's not depress about this mission. I mean Sasuke did try to kill us the last time we saw him but that doesn't mean it's gonna happen again. It can't happen, I won't let it.'_

Naruto stopped chuckling and kept his eyes forward. He was staring at the wall wondering why his life had turned out this way. Did he do something so wrong to cause his own teammate to hate him so much? Or was he just plain evil in the sight of everyone because of the demon trapped inside of him? He was so deep in thought that he didn't realize that Sakura had placed her hand on his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him.

"It's gonna be okay Naruto. We can do this together." she gave him a warm smile and all he could do was stare at her in shock, his crystal blue eyes shining with warmth, "Come on remember the old times. You were always happy. Just know that we're in this together, you and me."

She paused for a minute as if to let him process the information, her left hand still on his shoulder.

"We'll get Sasuke back no matter what."

"Thanks Sakura." he muttered smiling widely.

He chuckled a little and then gave her a quick hug. She returned it a bit startled but she soon relaxed in his arms. After a few seconds he released her and gazed at her lovingly. She blushed and turned away.

"I love you Sakura, thanks a lot." he muttered holding her by her shoulders and staring immensely into her green eyes.

She let out a gasp and looked at her teammate with a bit of concern lingering in her green eyes. For a moment she was locked in his gaze but she quickly caught herself and turned away.

"Naruto…" she paused making her way to her feet, with her back facing him, "I'm sorry we're only friends. Okay? I think of you only as brother."

She whispered and then turned around to face him with a fake smile on her face. Out of nervousness she brushed down her red dress.

"Whatever." he muttered angrily making her gasp, "The least you could do is give me a chance, Sakura."

He got up to face her and she could see the hurt trailing heavily in his eyes and face. Naruto frowned at his teammate. Was he really such a bad person to like? Did he not have any good qualities at all?

"Naruto, you know I still have feelings for Sasuke." she whispered clasping her hands to her chest.

"Yeah the same guy that left you on a park bench to die in the middle of the night." he spoke with anger and disgust at what Sasuke had done to his teammate while clenching his fist, "I would have never done that to you."

She remained silent and bowed her head.

'_Naruto, I'm sorry.' _she thought, tears streaming down her face.

_BACK TO HINATA AND NEJI_

Hinata stared at Neji, fear written on her pale face. Why was he looking at her like that? And what would he think of her now that he knew her secret?

"Hinata, you can't be seriously thinking of giving that Uzumaki kid this letter." he muttered while handing the envelope to her.

She snatched it away from him, nodded timidly and then spoke, "Of course. Is there a problem?"

"Where have you been the last couple of months?" he asked sternly, startling her harshly.

She remained silent staring him with confidence. Who did he think he was to tell her such a thing? Sure he was her cousin and claimed protector based on the rules of their clan. But that didn't mean he could tell her what to do. She bit her lip harshly out of nervousness. This is not what she was expecting tonight.

"I've been where I've always been in my room."

She bowed her head in shame. After her embarrassing incident in front of Naruto she had hide herself in her room, only leaving to train occasionally with her teammates. She didn't want to be reminded of the incident again or her weakness. She frowned and pulled lightly on her beige sweater.

"You can't possibly tell me that you're not aware that Sakura and Uzumaki are dating?" he asked sneering at her.

"What?!!" she shrieked, pearl eyes widen in fright.

Neji took a few steps closer to his cousin. Although he didn't care much for the girl he was still required to protect her.

"Everyone in the village knows." he stated sarcastically, "Almost every night Sakura visits Uzumaki and leaves at unmentionable hours."

Hinata shook her head in disbelief.

"That's not true!!!" she yelled back at him, closing her eyes refusing to believe a word he had just said, "They're teammates. They're trying to get Sasuke back that's why their together all the time."

Neji frowned giving the girl in front of him an annoyed look. Was she really that dumb to believe that?

'_Such a naïve girl.'_ he thought as he grabbed her hand.

"I guess I'll just have to show you then. I'm sure she's at his apartment right now." he muttered as he dragged Hinata away with him without waiting to receive a response from her.

Hinata could do nothing but follow as her hand was being dragged away from her. Before long they reached Naruto's apartment. They jumped up onto the apartment roof and leaned over to peep into his apartment clearance. A balcony stood below which had an opening that showed Naruto and Sakura talking. Sakura had tears running down her face and Naruto was talking to Sakura with a hurtful expression on his face. Hinata couldn't tell what was really going on but the two looked like they were having an argument.

"Naruto, listen to me. There are other girls out there." the pink haired girl spoke with confidence while wiping her face with her right hand, "I mean if you would just stop flirting with them and get serious. I'm sure you can find a nice girl that can like you for you."

She gave him a bitter smile.

"No." he replied and Hinata could hear the hurt in his voice. Her heart ached to hear him say that.

'_If you only knew Naruto.'_ she thought as she continued to look on.

"There's no one that likes me, Sakura. I'm the demon boy. Remember?" he looked at his teammate seriously, his harsh gaze softening, "I only flirt with those girls for attention. There's no one out there that would like a guy like me. But I know you can, Sakura."

He sighed reaching for his teammate's hand. Hinata immediately gulp at the scene. What was he going to do?

"Naruto…"

"Just give me a chance Sakura. I know I can make you happy. Forget about Sasuke for a once in your life. He doesn't care about you." he pleaded squeezing her hand.

Sakura shook her head once again, her red dress shaking as she moved.

"There are other girls out there. What about Hinata?" the pink haired kunoichi replied causing Hinata to squeak.

Immediately Neji placed his hand over her mouth and told her to mask her chakra. She calmed herself down and continued to look at the scene before her. Naruto arched an eyebrow.

"Hinata? She doesn't like me." he replied still holding Sakura's hand, "Besides she's kind of weak and not as strong as you are. I mean she's okay but something has changed over the years with her. I don't know what it is but she's not my type."

Sakura growled pulling out of his grasp.

"That's not true. Hinata's a strong girl. You just don't even know her."

"I know all I need to know and what I know is that, Sakura you're the only girl for me." he stated sternly and with out warning he pulled Sakura into his arms for a tight embrace, "I love you Sakura and no one else."

He whispered. The two stood like that for a while, Sakura trying to get out of his grasp and Naruto holding her tightly. Hinata whimpered and slapped Neji's hand off of her mouth. She could not believe what she had witnessed. The guy she cared for the most had called her weak and more importantly he didn't care or even love her. She immediately jumped off of his apartment roof and began sprinting home. Neji followed and almost had a hard time keeping up. As soon as he did he found her standing in front of the same lake where they both stood only a few minutes ago.

"Hinata…" he whispered actually feeling quite sorry for her, "I hate to tell you I told you so."

The young girl remained silent and stared intensely at the lake. Slowly she took the note out of her beige pocket and threw it into the water. Her pearl eyes gazed at the letter as it slowly dissolved and sank to the bottom of the lake. A light breeze blew around her sending her hair high into the air and causing her to shiver a bit. Neji turned to her and gave her a concern look. He wanted to say something but decided that he shouldn't. Besides he didn't know of anything nice he could say to her to make her feel better. He just knew in his opinion that she was still weak and had a long way to go in order to becoming the new heir of the main branch.

'_Naruto, doesn't like me at all.'_ she thought bitterly as a silent tear slid down her cheek, _'Even though it hurts a lot, I guess I will have to accept it.' _

She closed her eyes and began walking slowly towards her home with tears flowing freely down her face. Neji walked protectively behind her in silence, hearing her sniffles and whimpers as she placed her hands over her chest as if to slow down her heart beat.

'_Naruto…' _

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Hinata: Naruto things I'm weak. Well I'll show him just how strong I can be!! I may not be Sakura but that doesn't make me less of a person. I can do this!!

Neji: What are you trying to prove Hinata? You'll never be strong enough or worthy to be the head of the main branch.

Hinata: Neji Hyuuga, shut up!!! (Walks up to him and slams the door in his face.)

I'll show him… I'll show him and everyone that they're wrong!!

_Next time: A Startling Discovery_

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_Okay tell me what you think. Once again this is my first Naruto/Hinata fic so go easy on me. For some reason I can't seem to find any new good stories for this couple myself, if you guys know any please let me know. Oh and don't forget to review. I want to hear your comments. Lata!!_

_PhantasyDreamer_


	2. A Startling Discovery

_PhantasyDreamer: Okay I'm back with a new chapter after my two months vacation from updating. I want to thank you all so much for the reviews I enjoyed reading them so much. And even though the story has just begun I want you all to know that your comments were appreciated. Well I should be updating "Sasuke's Love" but I finished this chapter first so I decided to post this one now. Later I'll post the next chapter for that story. Hope you guys enjoy reading this chapter, I worked really hard on it!! And don't forget to leave a comment before you go. _

_By the way I don't own Naruto at all only the plot and any original characters I may throw in now and then. _

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_Hidden Power in a Shy Flower _

_Chapter 2: A Startling Discovery_

_Last time: 'Naruto, doesn't like me at all.' she thought bitterly as a silent tear slid down her cheek, 'Even though it hurts a lot, I guess I will have to accept it.' _

_She closed her eyes and began walking slowly towards her home with tears flowing freely down her face. Neji walked protectively behind her in silence, hearing her sniffles and whimpers as she placed her hands over her chest as if to slow down her heart beat. _

'_Naruto…' _

_The story continues…_

Sakura pulled herself out of Naruto's strong embrace and turned her gaze towards the balcony. She had seen a slight strand of Hinata's hair hanging down from above the roof as she was looking over and immediately she knew someone was there. Sakura couldn't tell why Naruto didn't sense anything but she figured he was too busy giving her his long speech to notice anything. The pink haired kunoichi frowned upon seeing Hinata disappear out of sight with Neji trailing not too far behind.

Sakura sighed. She had hoped Naruto would have said something nice about the girl but instead he had to go and say something like that, saying that she was weak and not his type. She didn't plan for Hinata to be there but it just so happened that she was there and had heard everything that was said. Naruto smirked at her sheepishly while scratching the back of his head.

"Sakura…" he paused, "Sorry I guess I got a little carried away, huh?"

He grinned widely and all Sakura could do was frown.

'_You think?'_ her frown soon changed into a small smile, _'Man, why did he have to go and _

_say that? Now, who knows what Hinata may be thinking? I hope she didn't hear all of it.'_

"Naruto…" she grinned a little immediately picking up her purse that had dropped to the floor the moment Naruto had hugged her, "I have to go now. Tsunade is waiting for me to arrive at the banquet. I'm already late as it is."

The blond let out a light chuckle, "You know if you needed a date, you could've asked me!! I'm always available!!"

He chuckled even louder while scratching the back of his head. Sakura shook her head with a light sigh as she turned towards the door. She turned back towards him with a wide smile on her face, her green eyes shining happily again, "Sorry Naruto, females only. Bye!!"

She walked out of his apartment as he looked at her retreating back, her red dress slowly disappearing in the dark. Before she exited out of the small hallway she turned back to him instantly surprising him.

"By the way don't forget what I said about Hinata. Give her a chance."

He smirked and yelled back at her, "I will as long as you give me a chance!!"

"Whatever!" she muttered and disappeared out of sight giggling lightly.

Naruto closed his apartment door and leaned on it.

'_Hinata? Why would she think that Hinata would like me?'_ he thought with his eyes closed, _'I'm not the type of guy she should be with anyway. She's from a prestigious clan and I'm…nobody.' _

He frowned as he locked the door and headed towards his bedroom.

'_There's no way a girl like Hinata could like me. Sakura's the only girl for me.'_

Immediately the blond plopped down onto his bed and fell into a deep slumber.

_THREE DAYS LATER AT THE HYUUGA'S MANSION_

Hinata woke up from a deep sleep with a groggily expression on her face. She ruffled her hand through her dark purple hair that was sprawled out everywhere. She yawned a little and reached over to her small table next to her bed and picked up a small oval shaped purple mirror, sitting up immediately.

'_I wonder what I look like now.'_ she thought taking the mirror into her hands, _'It's been so long since I've seen myself in the mirror.' _

What she saw shock her. Her purple hair was shattered all over the place. Her skin was even paler than usual. There were heavy bags under her eyes and her silver purplish eyes were dimmed to a white color. She pulled her covers up to her chin and shivered a bit. Ever since she had heard what Naruto had said about her that night, she had locked herself in her room refusing to leave it for three days.

Why was her life turning out this way? Was there something wrong with her that made Naruto not like her as a person? She frowned at herself in the mirror. She didn't care about anyone anymore. She just couldn't understand why Naruto could not like her the way she liked him but she knew somehow she would have to accept it. Immediately the dark purple haired girl placed her mirror back on her small table. She let out a deep sigh and thought back on the incident that bothered her so much. It had happened almost three months ago.

_FLASHBACK_

Hinata walked aimlessly throughout the village trying her best to find someway to get her crush to notice her. She had become a little more confident around him lately and she felt for some reason like doing something spontaneously for a change. Once she tried the tactic of telling him how she felt while they were eating ramen at the local Ramen Shop but for some reason she ended up blushing and falling immediately off of the stool. At that time Naruto had just looked at her weirdly, helped her onto her feet and then left on his merry way. Another time she tried talking to him about relationships. She had asked him questions, trying to hint something to him but unfortunately Naruto never got the picture and ended up laughing at her questions. After a few minutes he had left and told her he had to go do some training.

The young girl sighed bringing her hands up towards her chest. Slowly she made her way towards the Yamanaka flower shop to look around for a flower that would represent herself.

'_I know Naruto's not the type to like flowers but it shouldn't hurt if I decide to get one for myself.' _she thought, her silver purplish eyes gazing around the room curiously.

"Hey Hinata, how are you? What are you looking for?" a young blond asked with a wide smile.

Hinata jumped a bit startled by the sudden voice of her friend, Ino Yamanaka.

"Oh hi Ino!! I'm just looking for a flower…" she muttered softly, eyes towards the floor, "one that represents me..."

The ponytail haired blond smirked at her friend.

"Hmm…well I'll suggest the white rose." she replied leaning over the flowers that sat piled in vases on the floor, "It means purity, innocence, silence and humility. I think it will definitely suit your quiet and shy nature."

The dark purple haired girl giggled at her blond haired friend's statement. Who knew she would find what she was looking for so easily?

"Thank you Ino, I'll definitely take that one."

A short pause commenced between the two and soon Ino decided to speak. Something about Hinata's silence puzzled her. She just didn't know what was going on in the girl's head anymore. They had been friends since the Academy days but she soon noticed that over the years there had been a dramatic change in the girl's attitude towards people. Hinata was shy, yeah everyone knew that but as she grew older she became a bit more reserved than usual and whenever someone tried to help or comfort her she would shut them out.

The blond sighed as she turned to see Hinata staring at the flower intently. Ino had long blond hair that was held in a high ponytail. A portion of her blond hair extended to the front of her face coming down towards her chin while the remainder trailed down her back. She wore a purple halter type shirt that exposed her back and showed a little of her navel. She also wore a short purple skirt that lay three inches above her knees with a small waistband belt around her waist. The skirt had a v-shaped gray material in the middle of it making the skirt a bit shorter than usual in the middle and a bit longer on the sides. Rubbing her hands together Hinata could see that she was not wearing her gray elbow slots or the ones she usually wore on her legs.

"So, are you coming to Jaraiya's birthday party tonight at the new club?" Ino asked suddenly with a wide smile on her face.

"Huh?"

"Are you sure?" she asked again touching her friend's shoulder.

Hinata turned to her blond friend with a surprised look on her face, "I don't know."

Ino let off a light sigh, turned back around and walked towards the cash register with Hinata following close behind. The dark purple haired girl paid for the flower and thanked Ino. She took her flower in the clear plastic it was wrapped in and got ready to leave. She was almost out the door when Ino stopped her.

"You know it's a shame you're not going Hinata…" she began causing the young girl to look her way, "Sakura, Tenten and I are going shopping in a few minutes to get something to wear and I know you would have lots of fun with us. Plus Naruto will be there at the party. So I just thought…"

Hinata froze in her position blocking out what else Ino had to say.

'_N-N-Naruto will be there?'_

"Well, I-I…"

Ino jumped up and ran towards her giving her a huge hug.

"Then it's settled you're coming with us."

Hinata stared wide eyed at the blond while she took off her apron, ran to the back of the store to alert her mother that she was leaving. After she was done she journeyed outside with Hinata heading towards one of the most popular clothing store in the Leaf Village.

_CLOTHING STORE_

Hinata gasped as she was being pushed into the clothing store. Ino frowned a bit letting out a grunt in the process. She had a hard time getting Hinata into the store much less out of her parent's flower shop. She couldn't tell why the girl was so afraid but she guessed it had something to do with Naruto. After all, just by the mentioned of his name had made her re-think her decision of not going to the party.

The two young teenage girls made their way further into the store. Standing up ahead of them were two girls, one with short pink hair and emerald eyes and the other with brown hair that was held in two buns and light brown eyes. Ino rushed over to them with a smile barely able to contain herself with the news while dragging a nervous Hinata behind her.

"Tenten, Sakura, sorry I'm late…" Ino smirked letting out a giggle that surprised Hinata, "I have great news!! Hinata's going to Jaraiya's party!!"

"Really?" Sakura asked with enthusiasm, her green eyes shining widely as Hinata gave a slight nod.

"Then let's start shopping." Tenten replied grabbing her friend's hand.

The four girls set off to shopping for something nice to wear to the party. It took them almost the whole day to find something for Hinata. Unfortunately, it didn't take them too long to find something for themselves. After they were finished they began searching for a nice outfit for their purple haired friend. However, nothing they found could fit her likings. Everything they picked out was either too revealing, too short or not her style. Out of frustration Sakura pushed her into the dressing room with an ensemble that Ino and she had picked out. It was the right color and hopefully she wouldn't have a problem wearing it.

Hinata gazed at herself in the mirror and frowned. She was definitely not going to wear this.

'_Are they crazy? I can't let Naruto see me wearing something like this. I look like…a…I don't even know what to think.'_ she thought biting her lips harshly.

"HINATA!! Come on out!!"

"I'm coming!!" she yelled back and slowly stepped out of the dressing room.

When she came out her three friends gasped at her attire and started cheering her on.

"You look great Hinata!" Tenten yelled rushing up to hug her.

"Yeah, you're gonna make Naruto drool tonight." Ino smirked making the young girl blush.

"He'll definitely fall for you." Sakura nodded with a wide grin.

The young girl cast her eyes to the floor then frowned and then looked at them, "I don't like it. The skirt is too short and I don't like how the material clings to my body. It's too revealing, you guys."

Tenten walked up to her and turned her friend's body to face the big mirror that was located behind her. Hinata closed her eyes as she felt Tenten place her hands on her shoulder. What did they think she would like dressing this way? She couldn't even deal with her legs being so exposed and not fully clothed by her regular baggy pants.

"Come on Hinata, relax. You said you wanted to do something spontaneous." the brown haired girl replied while the others gathered around Hinata, "At least try it. Who knows you might make a big impression on Naruto and he might see you for who you really are."

The dark purple haired girl shrugged her shoulder and sighed, "Oh…alright!!"

"Yeah!!" she could hear her three friends cheering on behind her, but that didn't make her feel any better.

They began talking about her make-up and what they were planning to do and all Hinata could think about was how she was going to get through this ordeal. Was she really going to go through with it? And how would she get out of the house without her father or cousin noticing anything? She closed her pearl eyes to help calm her nerves.

Nightfall came almost too quickly for Hinata as she walked to the new club with Neji by her side. She had somehow convinced her father to let her go and he reluctantly agreed knowing that Neji would be there to protect her. The dark purple haired girl sighed while tugging on her ninja clothes. She could see Neji eyeing her out of the corner of his eyes wondering why she was dressed like that. But she ignored him. It wasn't as if it was any of his business what she wore. She frowned taking a quick glance at what he was wearing. Neji wore a cream long sleeve shirt and pants to match. His regular Leaf headband lay on top of his forehead while he frowned. Other than that he looked practically the same as usual.

Hinata made it into the club and gasped at the people inhabiting the club. Before she had time to adapt to her surroundings she was being pulled towards the public bathroom. Her friends quickly helped her into her outfit which consisted of a lavender blouse that wrapped around her neck in a halter format allowing her lower back to be exposed along with a short dark purple skirt. She also wore black boots that came up under her knees. The girls also helped her put on her makeup. A light pink lipstick shade finished off her lips. She also had the small white rose she bought at the flower shop tucked into the left side of her hair. Her long dark purple hair was twisted in the back into a French wrap while leaving small curls to the side of her face.

"So, what do you think Hinata?" Tenten asked while Hinata took a peek in the mirror.

The young girl bowed her head and then turned to look at her friends whom were staring her like she was crazy.

"Um…I-I…I don't know. I guess I look okay…but…h-how did you guys know that I like Naruto?" she asked suddenly while Sakura let off a slight giggle.

Tenten and Ino soon joined in.

"We could see it on your face Hinata." Tenten replied in a calm tone making the young girl blush.

"Yeah and besides that I knew you had a thing for Naruto a long time ago. It went all the way back to the Academy days." Sakura stated with a smirk, "The way you would always act around him. It was a dead give away."

She looked up at them with an unsure smile, pointing her index fingers together in a quick motion. Hinata couldn't help it although she didn't realize it she using the nervous habit she had when she was younger. Over the years she had finally moved passed it but thinking about Naruto and what he might think of her only made her more scared than ever.

"I…um…you guys…thank you. I'm really nervous right here but I'm glad you guys decided to help me."

"No problem Hinata, you're our friend." the pink haired girl replied with a warm smile.

"Yeah and that's what friends do. They help each other out." Tenten stated with a nod.

"Okay, now go out there and _wow_ Naruto!!! Be bold confident and let him know whose boss." Ino screamed while pushing her towards the door.

Hinata nodded heading towards the door. She turned back to face her friends giving them an embarrassing smile, "Um…before I go, I have just one question."

"Yeah?" they all asked leaning their heads in close enough to hear what she had to say.

"Are you guys sure I can't wear a bra in this thing? I feel so exposed." she hugged herself immediately while the three girls in front of her sweat dropped.

"HINATA!!!!" they yelled as they pushed her out of the door.

_INSIDE THE CLUB_

Hinata walked slowly but boldly throughout the club trying her best to find Naruto at least somewhere. After no such luck she soon made her way towards the bar area and took a seat on a stool. She brushed back her curl feeling a bit nervous once again. Her silver purplish eyes scanned the area still searching for Naruto. She sighed wondering what Naruto would think of her now that he saw her dressed like this.

Hinata gasped immediately upon seeing Naruto standing a far distant off in the middle of a small crowd. He was laughing loudly while holding his sides in pain. Jaraiya could be seen next to him drooling and staring at an angry Tsunade who had recently popped out of a cardboard cake wearing a long red dress. Everyone was staring at her with smirks on their faces, staring at how beautiful their Hokage looked even in her old age of 57.

'_I wonder what Naruto will really think about me. I hope he recognizes me.'_ she thought sadly taking a sip of water, _'I mean I don't even recognize myself.' _

Hinata turned away from the commotion and ordered another glass of water.

Time flew by fast as the dark purple haired girl sat by the bar waiting patiently for her crush to come by and notice her. She bowed her head in shame wondering why she had even decided to go through with this. Besides it wasn't as if her new style would attract Naruto. She knew it was attracting other males in the room. She could see through the corner of her eyes that a few guys were giving her suggestive grins but she tried her best to ignore them. She sighed, closing her eyes in disappointment. She hoped she didn't get in over her head.

Before she knew what was going on a hyperactive blond came to her side to order something from the bar. He turned to her with a smirk on his face causing her to blush instantly.

'_Be confident, be bold. You can do this!' _

"Hey there pretty lady." he replied coyly with a smile.

"Hello." she answered almost seductively.

There was a slight pause before Hinata decided to break the silence.

"This is my first time being here. Care to show me around?"

Naruto grinned scratching the back of his head.

"Sure. Anything for a cute girl like you."

Hinata slowly got up from the stool and stood next to Naruto. She was almost his height because of her shoes but that didn't stop her one bit. When she turned towards him he was gaping at her. She blushed and then looped her hand through his arm. Naruto was a bit taken back by this action but he ignored it and pulled the dark purple haired girl onto the dance floor. Naruto was happy dancing with the mysterious girl. She was beautiful and had a great smile. However, something felt quite familiar about this girl but he couldn't figure out what it was. After a few minutes of dancing Naruto decided to return to his friends while Hinata headed back to the bar to get a drink. She was exhausted and ready to go home.

'_That was fun!!' _she thought with a smile on her face.

Hinata grinned as she took a sip of the tropical punch she had just ordered. She grinned to herself realizing that all her money was almost finished. Without thinking she turned around and saw that Neji was busying kissing his girlfriend Tenten and Naruto, Sakura and Ino were having a deep conversation. The young purpled haired girl gasped as she turned to her left to see a young man sitting on the stool next to her with a wide grin on his face.

"Hi." he muttered making Hinata's eyes widen in fear.

Naruto had rushed back over to his friends with a big smile on his face.

"I just had the most wonderful time with this girl I just met." he said talking to Sakura and Ino who were sitting by a small table surrounded by some of their friends.

Sakura smirked a bit, "What's her name?"

The blond narrowed his eyes in frustration, "I didn't ask."

Ino burst out laughing at the boy.

"Naruto, you're such a dork. How could you dance with a girl and not know her name?" Ino asked, placing her hands on her hips.

Naruto pouted feeling a bit stupid at Ino's statement. She was right but when he turned to Sakura the expression she had on her face scared him.

"What's the matter Sakura?"

"Um…" she paused as she made her way to her feet, "Naruto, could you do me a favor?"

"Anything. Anything for you Sakura." he whispered as he placed his hand around her shoulder. She gave him a glare and then turned her green eyes ahead of her, "Could you go check up on Hinata? She just left with that guy and I have a bad feeling about him, at least from the rumors I've heard."

The blond arched an eyebrow and stared at his friend dumfounded, "Hinata's here?!!"

He let out a bit startled by the news while immediately falling backwards.

Ino gave him a stern look and then burst out laughing again.

"Of course she is. She's the mysterious girl you were just dancing with." Ino declared causing the blond to gasp for breath.

'_What? That was Hinata?' _he thought staring up at the two girls in front of him.

"Now, can you do that for me?" Sakura's calm voice broke him out of his trance.

"Alright. But you should've told me it was Hinata. What if I had said something stupid?" he muttered as he got to his feet and then dashed towards the door.

_OUTSIDE_

A woozy Hinata walked out of the bar with a tall brunette man. He had long flaky hair that covered most of his eyes while a portion of his hair in the back was held in a low ponytail trailing down his back. He appeared to be in his early twenties. He walked slowly trying his best to steady Hinata as they journeyed onto the small path. The dark purple haired girl couldn't contain herself and kept laughing at ever chance she got. After a while the silence thickened so much that Hinata decided to say something.

"W-Where are we going?"

Her pearl eyes turned to the guy beside her. He had not uttered a word. He just kept his eyes forward as if thinking hard on something.

"I'm asking you a question!!" she demanded pulling her arm out of his grip. He narrowed his eyes and gazed at her, "Where are we going? I don't have a problem leaving but I just want to know where we're going."

"Don't worry about it Hinata. You're safe with me." he smirked evilly at her.

Hinata gazed at the tall man intently. She realized that she had indeed met him before. He was a very young rogue ninja who had came to the village a few years back. He was constantly getting into trouble with the Hokage for his violent behaviors and the way he would treat women. She knew right now he was on probation for assaulting an ANBU officer and because of that she felt like she should just leave. She didn't want to take a chance having to fight with him. Besides that she couldn't remember why she had even agreed to walk out of the bar with him in the first place.

She cleared her throat and looked at him, still feeling a bit dizzy, "Thanks for the drinks Haru but I think I should be heading home right now."

She turned to leave and felt his hand grip her wrist. Hinata whirled around surprised by his action and stared at him with her silver purplish eyes.

"Sorry Hinata, but we're going for a little walk." he gripped her hand tightly pulling her in the opposite direction.

She immediately pushed him away and narrowed her eyes trying her best to activate her blood line limit. After a minute or so she gasped staggering back a bit from the headache she felt. Hinata slowly fell to her knees.

"What's happening? Why can't I activate it?" she whispered staring at the ground, her hands shaking ever so violently.

"Don't waste your time trying to you use your Byakugan." the brunette man stated, causing Hinata to flinch at the coarseness of his voice, "Don't you get it? You're drunk, Hinata. There's no way you can use that technique."

Her pearl eyes widen incredibly.

'_What?' _

"Didn't you know?" he asked as the young girl sat on the dusty floor staring at the man in front of her who was pacing back and forth, "I've been studying your family for months. Don't you know the reason Neji never drinks is because of this exact reason? Drinking causes him to be vulnerable thus making him unfocused in battle. If he drinks he wouldn't even have a chance of beating a genin."

Hinata choked back a sob as a slight tear fell down her pale right cheek.

"I've heard the rumors about you and I'm prepared to fight to the death." she spoke with such determination that she scared herself.

Haru strode over towards her and pulled her onto her feet.

He stroked her hair a bit and titled her head upwards so that she could stare into his dark brown eyes. A speck of sweat slid quickly down her face as she gazed at him nervously, "I love you Hinata. It's just a shame that you've never noticed it before. All you've cared about is that blond idiot."

She screamed a bit and pushed herself out of his grip.

Haru just stared at her and shoved his hands in his pockets, "Can't you see that I love you? I've always been checking up on you all the time, each and every day. I…I'm really a nice guy. Come on. Give me a chance, Hinata."

He pleaded stretching out his arms towards her. Hinata closed her eyes.

'_I have a stalker. I can't believe I have a stalker.' _

"Leave me alone!" she yelled as he embraced her in a hug while she tried her best to get out of his grip.

Unfortunately it wasn't working.

"Hey!!!" a voice came breaking them out of their embrace.

Hinata's pearl eyes shone with excitement. It was the only person she wanted to see. It was Naruto.

"What do you want, Uzumaki?"

"You heard her. Leave her alone." the blond growled, curving his fist.

"Look Hinata's my girlfriend. Alright? So just leave us alone. Can't you see that we're in love?"

Naruto scratched his hair a bit and laughed, "Not that's its any of my business but according to my recollection Hinata doesn't have a boyfriend."

The dark purple haired girl just smirked at his comment.

'_He does care. He even noticed that.'_

Hinata walked to Haru's left trying her best to get away from him.

"Naruto, please help me. I just need to get away-"

Haru glared at her and pulled her back towards him.

"Shut up!!" he yelled as he slapped her.

The force of the hit was so strong that the young girl spun around twice and then hit the floor with great pressure. Her long dark purple hair came out of its wrap and covered her face completely. The flower that was tucked into the side of her hair lay close to her face. Hinata was out cold.

"That's it!!" Naruto yelled rushing after Haru.

It didn't take long before the battle was over and Naruto had Haru tied to a tree with his chakra strings. Naruto made his way quickly towards Hinata who was face down in the dirt. He pulled her up into a sitting position while she gave him a weak smile, picking up her white rose in the process. She immediately tucked it back into her hair that was now trailing down her back.

"Hinata, are you okay?" he asked, helping her clear the dirt off of her face with his thumb.

She flinched when he touched the bump that was now swollen on her face.

"I'm okay, Naruto. Thanks." she whispered, letting off a giggle as she made her way to her feet.

Naruto gave her a blank stare.

'_What's up with her?' _he thought staring at her dancing like she was crazy.

"Hinata, I think it's time you head home. I'll walk with you." he offered.

He was even more surprised to hear her response.

"No. I'm not going home now. I'm having so much fun. –hiccup-"

The blond paused a minute immediately holding his friend's hand to steady her. She gave him a bright smile and kissed him on the cheek. Naruto blushed a bit and took another look at Hinata's attire. He was clearly not fond of the clothes she picked out especially since it was on her. At first he didn't have a problem with it because he thought she was a different girl but when he found out it was Hinata, he didn't like it one bit. He coughed a bit when he realized that the dark purple haired girl was trying to kiss him on the lips desperately.

Immediately he held her by the shoulders, shaking her a bit, "Hinata…" he paused while she smirked at him.

"Yes?"

"Why are you even dressed like this?" he frowned as she took her arms from around his shoulders and began spinning around, "I mean you look like a-"

"What you don't like it?"

"Not particularly."

"What? I thought you would like the change!!" she yelled almost scaring him, "I changed for you."

She pointed her index finger towards him as if to emphasis that she really changed for him while placing her left hand on her hip. Naruto frowned.

'_Something's definitely wrong with this girl. Where's the shy, soft spoken Hinata I know? And what's up with her changing for me?' _he stood in front of her with his famous foxy grin on his face.

"You're obviously drunk Hinata so I'm taking you home whether you like it or not." he lifted her bridal style and got ready to leave but Hinata wasn't going without a fight.

"Put me down, Naruto!! I mean it!!" she yelled kicking her legs high into the air.

"Calm down, Hinata!! I'm only carrying you home."

"No…I…I don't want…want…to go home." she whispered hitting him lightly on his chest as she collapsed in his arms.

The tall blond gazed at the unconscious girl in his arms wondering why she was acting like this and what was the real reason for her sudden change.

After a few seconds Naruto gritted his teeth in frustration, "Man, in all the commotion I forgot to ask her where she lives."

Immediately Naruto flew into the trees and decided to head to his home instead.

_NARUTO'S APARTMENT_

Hinata shifted lightly on the bed trying her best to stop the glare of the sun from shining in her eyes. She snuggled her head sideways on the pillow and opened her eyes to see an orange lamp on top of a table next to the bed. The young girl then closed her eyes deciding it was best to get some more sleep. A small smile creased her face as she thought of how comfortable the bed felt and what was even more surprising was that the whole room smelt like ramen. In a quick flash her eyes popped open again and she immediately sprang out of the bed. She looked at herself and realized she was wearing an oversized orange shirt that trailed to her knees.

"AHHHHHH!!!" she screamed without thinking as Naruto flew into the room a bit startled.

He held a tray containing eggs and toast along with a large cup of tea. Hinata looked at him scared to death.

"What am I doing here? Why am I wearing your clothes? What happened here?"

Naruto could see she was clearly panicking. He told her to take a seat on the bed and take a few deep breaths to calm herself down.

"You were drunk last night and you passed out before I could ask you where you lived so I brought you here." he stated giving her some tablets with the cup of tea, "Take these they should help you with your headache. Are you feeling better?"

"Yes, but my clothes."

"Oh that. I didn't quite like what you were wearing so I put my shirt over your clothes."

"Oh…"

There was a long pause. Naruto then left the room and came back after a few minutes. He brought in a white towel, a very small white shirt he had when he was twelve years old and a long brown pants and place them on the bed.

"After you take a shower you can wear these clothes. They're pretty small so they should fit you perfectly. I don't think it's a good idea going out in those clothes again." he replied sternly refusing to make eye contact with her, "A good cold shower should help make you feel better after what happened last night."

Hinata turned her eyes towards Naruto. He had his back facing her and his arms were folded as if he was mad or in a bad mood. His flaky blond hair fell down to his face almost covering his eyes but she could see the sadness in his bright blue eyes.

'_Is he mad at me?'_

She bowed her head in shame, "Thank you, Naruto. I didn't expect that this would happen but I thank you regardless."

The blond immediately turned towards her with an angry expression on his face.

"What do you mean?" he asked, pulling a chair close to the bed as he sat down, "You were drunk, Hinata. That's not like you at all. What's going on with you?"

She shook her head.

"I was just trying to have some fun." she tried to smirk but Naruto's expression made her gasp.

"But drinking? How could you?" he asked staring her seriously as if she was his girlfriend, "If Sakura didn't tell me to go check up on you. Who knows what would've happened? You couldn't even defend yourself or use your Byakugan."

He stated harshly while she closed her eyes clearly not believing that Naruto of all people was giving her a lecture. For some reason she felt a bit hurt. She was always the one to cheer him up and show concern for him and now that he was returning the favor in a disappointed and harsh way she couldn't help but feel bad about it. Why did she have to go and do something spontaneous?

"I didn't know. He spiked my drinks." she whispered, "But thank you. I didn't know Sakura did that."

'_Weak and pathetic.' _she thought sadly.

She got to her feet and staggered backwards almost falling to the bed. Luckily, Naruto caught her before she fell. She turned around and looked at him a bit startled.

"Hinata, you know we're friends right?" he asked as she nodded her head, "If there is something going on, you would tell me right?"

He placed his hand on her shoulder in a supporting way while Hinata stared at him stunned by his question. Did she really have the guts to tell him the truth? The truth of what was really going on with her?

She coughed and ran away. All Naruto could hear her say as she rushed to the bathroom was _'I'll be back.'_

Twenty minutes later Hinata made her way out of the bathroom wearing the clothes Naruto had given her. She smirked as she heated up the breakfast her blond friend had made for her earlier. After she was finished eating she got ready to leave.

"Thanks for everything Naruto." she whispered with a small smile, holding her purple attire she wore the night before in her arms.

"Yeah don't mention it." he replied while scratching the back of his head, "Uh…Hinata."

The dark purple haired girl turned to look at him, "Yes?"

"Last night you said something strange. You said you changed for me. Were you serious or were you just too intoxicated to notice what you were saying?"

Hinata coughed almost choking on her spit, "I'm sorry Naruto but I didn't mean it. I didn't quite know what I was saying."

He chuckled a bit, "Well that's good to know because I don't like to see you dressing like that anyway."

She gasped widening her eyes in shock.

"W-Why?"

"Well you're not the type of girl to dress that way." he replied coming closer towards her,

"You're more the conservative type."

Hinata couldn't believe her ears.

"But Sakura and Ino usually wear that type of clothing on occasions. I don't see the problem." she let out a breath feeling a bit hurt by his choice of words.

He tapped her shoulder making her let out a squeak, "I know. I'm not saying that you're not pretty enough to wear them. I'm just saying you may be giving guys the wrong impression about you."

"What do you mean? I'm not good enough to dress like Sakura and Ino?" she asked on the verge of tears.

Naruto pulled her into a strong embrace. Hinata was shocked by his sudden action but she soon relaxed in his arms. She rested her head on his chest while waiting for him to let her go.

"I don't want to see you get hurt again like last night." the young blond whispered into her ear, holding her tightly. She could feel his hot breath on her neck as she stood still wondering why he even cared, "Hinata you're my friend and I don't want to see you go through that kind of pain again. I don't want to ever have to see you fighting for your life like you did in the chunnin exams."

He released her from his embrace and gave her a heart warming smile, "Just take care of yourself."

The dark purple haired girl gave Naruto a small smile and rushed out of his apartment as quickly as she could without even uttering a word.

'_What? Wait a minute what just happened here? She didn't even say anyway. I don't get her.'_

_END OF FLASHBACK_

Hinata lay curled up in a ball crying her eyes out. Memories of what Naruto had said that day still hurt but she had somehow tried to forget about them when she wrote the letter. It didn't make a difference anyway because he would never know what she had written.

"Hinata." a knock came at the door startling her, "Get dressed your father wishes to speak to you immediately."

The young girl frowned, "Tell him I will talk to him later."

She closed her eyes and stuffed her head back under her pillow.

There was a short moment of silence before the door opened and in walked an angry Neji. Hinata immediately got off of her bed to face him, wiping her tears away as quickly as she could. Neji sneered at the girl in front of him. No matter how much he didn't want to admit it Hinata had grown a lot but her emotions was clouding her judgment.

"Neji…get out of here." the dark purple haired girl whispered.

"What are you trying to prove, Hinata? You'll never be strong enough or worthy to be the head of the main branch." he muttered making her frown, "Your stupid crush on Uzumaki is clouding your judgment. Can't you see how pathetic it's making you?"

He asked only to receive silence from the girl. Hinata bowed her head letting her bangs cover her eyes.

"Your father wants to speak to you now about your upcoming betrothal so I suggest you prepare yourself."

Hinata glared at Neji and pushed him out of her door with all of her might, "Neji Hyuuga, shut up!!!"

She yelled slamming the door in his face. Thirty minutes later Hinata walked out of her bedroom wearing a light green kimono with white and pink petal designs. Neji was outside her door waiting for her. They both walked down the stairs and headed towards the training room. On the way there Neji kept looking at Hinata wondering what was going through her head. He sighed.

"Hinata, maybe I was too harsh but you got to get over Naruto. He doesn't even like you." he replied noticing that she had not even acknowledged his statement. So he changed the subject, "Aren't you a bit nervous?"

After a short second she nodded.

"What if father says I have to marry you?" she asked scared to death, "I know many royals allow family members to marry to keep royalty in the family but I don't like it."

Neji looked at his cousin and his face paled incredibly. Marry her?

"I would rather die than let that happen." he stated sickened by the thought of marrying his own cousin.

"Me too."

The dark purple haired girl let off a sigh.

"Whatever's going on in your head up there, Hinata just know that you have friends that care about you. Like Tenten, Ino and Sakura."

They soon made their way towards a large door and opened it. There in front them stood Hinata's father, Hiashi.

"Hinata, it's time."

'_Oh boy, here goes nothing.' _

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Naruto: Something's definitely wrong with Hinata. Here I am trying to be nice to the girl and she sends me home packing. What kind of girl does that to me? Anyway I'm not gonna let her stop me!!

Hinata: Leave me alone Naruto. I don't want to speak with you!! (Throws her fist at him)

Naruto: No matter. I'm gonna make her talk to me even if it's the last thing I do. Hinata's gonna be my girlfriend. I mean friend.

_Next time: Secrets Revealed_

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_Well tell me what you think. I'm sorry that the chapter is so long. I tried my best to shorten it the best I could. I know Hinata may be acting weird right now but all will be revealed later. I just want to show the changes Hinata has gone from her genin years up till now. Also I kinda placed the part with Hinata and Neji being married just for jokes. But I seriously hate to see people on fanfiction write them as a couple. They're related and that's just nasty. It's incest. I do not support that couple at all. Once again leave a review. Lata!!_

_PhantasyDreamer_


	3. Secrets revealed

_PhantasyDreamer: I just want to wish all my fans and readers a Merry Christ filled Christmas and a prosperous New Year. I'm happy to have finally finished this chapter on my vacation and even better on Christmas Day!! Yay!! Well you guys have waited long enough so please read and enjoy. Please ignore any errors you see for now I'll have to fix them later._

_The best gift for Christmas would be to own a successful show like Naruto. Sadly, that's not gonna happen so I'll just have to just settle with writing fanfics. Enjoy.. _

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_Hidden Power in a Shy Flower _

_Chapter 3: Secrets revealed _

_Last time: The dark purple haired girl let off a sigh. "Whatever's going on in your head up there, Hinata just know that you have friends that care about you. Like Tenten, Ino and Sakura." They soon made their way towards a large door and opened it. There in front them stood Hinata's father, Hiashi. "Hinata, it's time." 'Oh boy, here goes nothing.' _

_The story continues…_

Both teens walked into the room silently taken in the tense atmosphere that dwelled there. Hinata proceeded to kneel on the small cushion that lay in front of her on the floor. She was scared to death about whom she was to marry and somewhere in the back of her head she wished with all her might that it was Naruto. She turned her silver purplish eyes to the right to see Neji sitting next to her with a serious expression on his face.

"Hinata…you know your purpose for being here." her father paused, standing in front of her with a stern but sad expression on his face, "Now let's get to it."

Her father had long brown hair that extended down his back. His eyes were an exact print of hers except that they appeared to be darker as he glared at them. He frowned, staring immensely at his daughter. This was the hardest thing he had to ever do in his life and that was to tell his daughter whom she would have to marry. Slowly Hiashi made his way towards the small pillow that lay in front of him. He knelt on it in the same manner as Hinata and Neji.

The dark purple haired girl eyed her father cautiously. She could see him casting his eyes constantly to the floor as if sad and not wanting to let the world know of his pain. She let out a deep breath. It was now or never and she would have to be brave with his decision of whomever he chose for her to marry.

"Father, I am ready." she whispered, getting his attention as he smiled a little.

A long thicken silence followed as the three people in the room stared silently at each other. The silence was beginning to get to Hinata and although at times she didn't really like to talk the suspense was killing her. Her eyes moved from left to right repeatedly, sweat slowly rolled down her cheek as she turned to look at Neji and then her father. The room was so quiet that if a pin dropped on the wooden floor it could be heard from the living room that was a few feet away. The dark purple haired girl turned her attention towards her hands to see that she was sweating vastly.

Immediately the young girl opened her eyes and gasped.

"You're not making me marry Neji, are you?" she shrieked, eyes widen in fear as she began to hyperventilate.

Neji gave her a glare almost activating his Byakugan. He took a deep breath and spoke calmly to her.

"Hinata…calm down. You're overreacting." her brown haired cousin replied, instantly folding his arms.

Hinata turned back her attention towards her father to see him frowning.

"Father?"

"If you're finished with your practical jokes we can then move on." he stated taking her by surprised as he got to his feet.

He went to the further part of the room coming towards a table. He pulled out a map out of the drawer and placed it on the table gazing at it grimly. The tall man then turned towards his daughter with his silver purplish eyes. He could see her shivering nervously. He wondered what her problem was but soon realized that she was just a bit nervous as anyone would be when having an arranged marriage. Hinata shook her head almost in tears. She couldn't understand why her father was taking so long to break the news to her. Was she really going to marry someone so horrible that it took him so long to just come out and just say it?

"Father, please tell me. I can't stand the suspense anymore." she squeaked, closing her eyes in fright.

"Hinata." he paused taking a deep breath, "You may not know this but you are to be wedded to someone who does not reside here in the Leaf Village."

Hinata gasped tugging on her green kimono sleeve, "What?"

Her father slammed his hands on the table frightening Hinata and making Neji frown even more.

"I don't know how to say this Hinata…but it's come to my attention that in order to save the village you must marry my worse enemy."

Hinata's eyes widen in fear as she let out a gasp.

'_No!'_

_LEAF VILLAGE HOSPITAL_

Sakura walked towards the reception desk and signed out of the hospital. She had a long day and was extremely tired. She wondered what Naruto was up to and where he was. They were supposed to meet each other at Ichiraku, Naruto's favorite ramen shop but unfortunately he wasn't waiting for her outside the hospital as he would usually do instead he was no where to be found. The pink haired kunoichi strode down the dusty road until she came to her old training grounds. Staring at it brought back so many memories of her teammates and all they had been through over the years. A silent tear escaped from her eyes and she quickly wiped it away.

'_Stop it, Sakura. It's no use crying over someone who doesn't care about you.'_ she thought sadly.

The pink haired girl decided to go into the training ground and have a look around. She peered through the bushes to see Naruto sitting on the grass. He had a serious expression on his face. His clothes were also torn and messed with dirt and his flaky blond hair was covering his forehead and most of his eyes. Sakura strode over towards her teammate trying her best not to alert him of her presence. But before she was even close enough to him he turned towards her stopping her dead in her tracks.

"Naruto?" she gasped looking at the sad expression on his face, "What are you doing here? Are you alright?"

She asked as he turned his head away from her as if embarrassed. Sakura rushed towards him and dropped on her knees messing her cream pleated skirt on the grass.

"Naruto?" she let out turning his head in her direction.

She was a bit surprised to see that his right eye was swollen and his right arm was bruised and bleeding a bit.

"What happened here?"

"Kiba…he caught me off guard." he muttered turning his eyes towards the grass.

His teammate immediately sat next to him and rolled up her sleeves on her white doctor's jacket. She ripped a portion of her white jacket and then slowly began healing her friend's arm and eye. It took only five minutes to get him fully healed. When she was finished she tied the white piece of cloth around Naruto's right arm to cover the slight bruise that was clotting on his arm. Slowly she sat next to him and leaned back on her hands taking a deep breath. After a few moments of silence Naruto spoke.

"Sakura?"

"Huh?" she asked a bit irritated that she had drained herself out.

Her chakra was already low from a hard days work and now it would take a great amount of rest to get back to her normal chakra flow. Her jade eyes stared at her friend.

"What did you tell Kiba?" he asked his voice low and tinted with a bit of anger.

Sakura sat up immediately and looked at him.

"What are you talking about? I haven't spoken to Kiba in days."

Naruto's blue eyes glared at Sakura causing her to jump in shock. Never in all her life of knowing her teammate had he ever given her such a look. He was mad as she could tell but she just couldn't understand what it had to do with Kiba.

"Naruto…"

"Did you tell him about our conversation?" he asked, calming down slightly and taking her small hand into his grip. The pink haired kunoichi's eyes widen a bit as she shook her head telling him no, "He caught me off guard and I wasn't even looking. The only thing I could remember hearing him say something about Hinata being weak and her being stuck in her room for three days."

Sakura pulled her hand out of Naruto's grip and bowed her head. She took a deep breath and decided to relay her story of what happened.

"He most of overheard me talking to Ino."

"What?!! Why did you have to go and tell Ino?"

"I'm sorry but what you said about Hinata made me really mad and I had to tell someone." she began letting off a deep sigh, resting her hand under her chin, "I really didn't know he was listening."

"Well I didn't really mean she was weak." he replied holding his head in frustration, "Arrrgh!! I wasn't even thinking straight!!"

"So, what are you going to do?"

"I'm gonna apologize. I might as well before Shino sicks he bugs on me." he grinned feeling a bit happier while jumping to his feet immediately.

"Well that's great." the pink haired girl smirked making her way towards her feet as well, "Do you know what you're gonna get her?"

The blond arched an eyebrow. "Get her? What do you mean?"

The nineteen year old girl placed her hands on her hip in frustration.

She wore her regular scarlet arm sleeve _(sleeveless) _shirt that kind of resembled her old kimono type dress she wore when she was twelve years old. A short mini white skirt with box pleats came four inches above her legs and as she walked you could see her short black tights underneath. She also wore a long white jacket she would usually wear at the hospital to help shield her from the slight cold she was feeling right now. Her usually elbow slots and gloves were in her pocket and her Leaf village headband was strapped in it's usually position, over her bangs, lying on top of the middle of her head.

"A gift to apologize for what you said. Okay let's just imagine that you're giving me the gift. What would you give?"

"Uh…maybe some ra…"

"Don't you dare say ramen!!" she snapped causing him to frown, "What do girls like to receive…come on Naruto. It's not that hard!!"

Naruto crinkled his nose, "Hey Hinata likes ramen!!"

The pink haired girl let off a sigh. This was even harder than it looked.

"Come on Naruto, you can't be that dense. You're nineteen years old for goodness sake."

"Arghh!! It's not like I had a father to teach me all this stuff!!!" he yelled pulling his blond hair slightly.

The pink haired girl closed her eyes while folding her arms. Naruto was right. He didn't have a father at least presently alive. His father died when he was a newborn and he didn't know anything about him or even what he looked like. His mother also had died from childbirth completely making him an orphan. The only father figures he had in his life were his teacher Iruka and the Third Hokage, Sarutobi who died in a small war with the Sand and Sound Village when he was only twelve years old.

"Alright." she sighed, placing her right hand on her forehead out of frustration, "Give her flowers, something simple, like white roses or even lilies. Also get her chocolate and candies as well."

Naruto grinned happily at her suggestion.

"Thanks a lot Sakura." he whispered as he immediately hugged her and kissed her on the cheek.

Without warning he ran off leaving a puff of smoke behind. Sakura touched her cheek, blushing a little at what Naruto had just did.

'_Just like a brother.'_ she thought as she looked at the sun almost setting behind the mountains.

She turned to her watch and screamed, "Oh no I'm going to be late for my dinner date with Lee!!"

_HYUUGA'S MANSION_

Hinata rubbed her eyes refusing to cry. It wasn't like she didn't know that her betrothal would be like this but she didn't expect that she would have to marry an old man. She cursed herself for waking up at four in the afternoon after having such a hard time sleeping the previous night. She was still tired and drained out from all of her crying. The only thing Hinata didn't get was what her father was keeping from her. Why was it so hard to just tell her the reason for his decision?

"Father, please tell me that I'm not marrying your friend?"

Hiashi stood still with his eyes closed. He uncrossed his hands and rested them on the table. He wondered why things had to be this way. Why did his daughter have to be the sacrifice for the village? Why did she have to give up her hopes and dreams for the people of this village? Immediately he straightened his long white robe and turned his attention towards her.

His eyes were cold and distance but Hinata knew this was his way of dealing with tough situations. His eyes would always tell the story. She knew that whenever he had that dreamy sad look in his eyes something bad was going to happen or more importantly something bad had already happened.

"Father?" her voice rang once again breaking him out of his trance.

His silver purplish eyes stared at her with sadness as he replied, "Hinata, you're not marrying my friend. You're marrying his son."

"B-But why? Why can't I marry someone from the Leaf Village?"

She gazed at her father to see him shaking lightly, his hands on the desk barely able to contain his weight. Sweat roll off of his face from the heat of the room and he quickly brushed it away breathing heavily. In all her life she had never seen her father look so vulnerable.

The tall man let out a deep breath, "I only have one month to live."

The young girl's heart skipped a beat. She grabbed at her green kimono feeling a deep pang hit her hard in her chest. Breathing heavily she placed her hand on her chest trying her best to slow down her heart rate. Neji turned to her with a bit of concern.

"Hinata, are you alright?" he asked as she gave him a small smile.

"I'm fine." she whispered turning back to her father.

'_One month. How could this have happened?' _

"F-Father I don't understand."

He walked in front of the desk holding the map he had placed on the table recently, tightly in his grasp. In an instant he loosened it and showed it to her.

'_A map?'_ she thought staring at it intently, _'What does this have to do with me?' _

"You'll be leaving next month to travel to a hidden village somewhere close to the Land of Snow." he began as Hinata let her tears run freely down her face, "You will undergo some serious training before your departure to meet your groom to be. During this time you are _not _to tell any of your friends about your departure or your betrothal."

Hinata could hear the sternness in his voice when he said the word _**not**_ but she tried her best to ignore it.

Her father paused for a minute as if to let the information settle in her brain.

"The last remaining week before your departure you will be given the opportunity to tell your friends of your upcoming marriage. By this time you would be ready to leave without having to worry too much about your friends missing you or being attached to anyone."

She moved her right hand towards her mouth trying her best to hide her gasp. She shook her head in disbelief. Surely he was joking.

'_Attached to anyone? Why is he saying that?'_

"Father, please tell me, why?"

He placed the map on the table and closed his silver purplish eyes.

"Hinata, I am sorry." he whispered as he bowed his head refusing to look at her, "You may leave now."

The dark purple haired girl scrambled to her feet sobbing desperately. She immediately rushed out of the room without another word. Neji too stood up and turned to his uncle with a frown on his face. He could've been nicer about telling his daughter the horrible news. Instead he just threw the information on her without explaining anything.

Neji placed his hand over his ears as he heard Hinata let out a heart-wrenching scream. His uncle opened his eyes and looked at him.

"She's fine." the young boy muttered knowing that Hinata would only scream like that whenever she was really mad. The brown haired boy turned to his uncle, "Forgive me for my forwardness uncle but you could've been a bit nicer to Hinata. She doesn't know the whole story. I think she at least needs to know the reason she has to marry this man."

He immediately turned around and exited the room refusing to hear what his uncle had to say in his defense. Hiashi looked at Neji's retreating back. He knew the boy was right but he had his reasons for doing this. Even though it was hard he knew he was doing this for Hinata's well being and the well being of everyone in the village.

'_Hinata I'll explain my reason to you one of these days. It's just too hard to do so right now.' _

_IN A TREE_

Naruto stood outside of Hinata's bedroom window sitting on a tree branch. It didn't take him long to find her house but with the help of Tenten he finally found it. When he got there he tried to figure out ways he could get to talk to her without alerting other people in the household of his presence. So trying to be undetected he decided to climb the nearest tree close enough to her bedroom.

Naruto opened his blue eyes that were closed at the moment to see Hinata burst into her room crying hysterically. His cerulean eyes widen as he watched the young girl slam a pillow over her head and it appeared as if she was screaming. The young blond turned towards the sky. The sun had finally set behind the Hokage Stone Mountain causing the village to slowly darken. He then turned his attention back towards Hinata's room.

'_What's going on here?' _he thought as he stared at her through her bedroom window, _'__Why is she crying like that?'_

The young blond stared sadly at Hinata deciding it was best to just wait until she had stopped crying to go and talk to her. He didn't want to make her any madder then she already was. Slowly he leaned back on the tree branch and soon drifted off into a deep slumber. By the time the young man caught himself it was morning and the sun was slowly spreading its rays across the sky. Naruto raised his hand to block the sunlight from scorching his eyes. He leaned on the branch and took a quick glance towards Hinata's window. Inside he could see his friend sprawled off on the bed. Half of her lower body was lying on the bed while the other part of her upper body was leaning towards the floor. Naruto held in a slight laugh at the look she had on her face. Her head was arching backwards allowing her dark hair to spread out evenly on the floor. Drool could be seen sliding out the side of her mouth as she breathes in and out. She had changed somehow during the night out of her green kimono and into a light purple pajama.

After a few seconds of staring he noticed that the young girl woke up from her deep slumber and straightened herself. She then positioned herself properly on the bed while wiping her face.

'_She looks stressed.'_

Naruto decided it was best that he try to wake her to go and apologize. He didn't want to waste anymore time than he already did waiting for her to calm down. Besides that he had to get some training done for the day and if he waited any longer he could miss out on that opportunity.

"Hinata…" he whispered, standing on the tree branch.

He was about to pop into her room when her bedroom door burst open revealing a red head woman in her late forties. She wore a long pink kimono dress. The nineteen year old blond ninja stared dumbfound at the figure in his friend's bedroom.

"Who is she?" he thought out loud, "But wait a minute…I don't remember. Is she…?"

_HINATA'S BEDROOM_

"Hinata!!"

The young girl stirred immediately sitting up on her bed. She wiped her face groggily and stared at the woman in front of her. Narrowing her eyes she sighed. Why did she have to bother her now when she was feeling so down about marrying a stranger?

"Still in bed, huh?" the woman asked, eyeing her evilly.

Her dark green eyes gazed upon the young girl in amusement but Hinata only stared back at her refusing to bow to her level. She didn't want to say anything she would regret later. Instead she just glared at her with all the hatred she had bottled up inside of her. This woman was one of the main reasons for all of her distress.

"You dirty little girl. Where were you last night?" she interrogated, slamming the door behind her.

Hinata cringed then frowned seriously at her stepmother. How dare she come into her room and demand such a thing? Who did she think she was anyway? The young girl could see the woman in front of her was getting a bit frustrated but she didn't care. All she wanted was some peace and quiet at home.

"Hinata…" her stepmother paused, taking a step forward while brushing her red hair out of her face, "I asked you a question. Now answer me!!"

The dark purple haired girl just closed her eyes. She didn't want to have to go through another round of her stepmother's episodes. Ever since her father had gotten married three years ago things in the Hyuuga's household had changed for the worst. In the beginning everything seemed fine. She had a mother figure once again in her life and in the house and she seemed to be just the person her father needed by his side. However, it was only until a year and a half ago that Hinata finally saw her true colors. She would snap at the girls every chance she got and force them to do the chores when they had servants who were being paid to do so. The servants were always afraid of her so they would not dare tell their master what his mistress was doing to his children.

"Hinata!!" she barked causing the young girl to let out a gasp.

Hinata bowed her head and deciding it was best to just answer her, "Yes, stepmother."

"Where were you last night?"

"I was in my room."

'_Crying.'_ she thought sadly.

The red head woman scoffed, folding her arms immediately. She walked over towards Hinata with a large frown plastered on her face. Hinata stared up at her blankly wishing with all her might that her Byakugan could see more than just her charka points. She wished it could see her soul. The young girl shook her head slightly knowing that seeing her stepmother's soul was as if she was seeing the devil himself. She cleared her throat and bowed her head feeling a bit nervous for some strange reason. Hinata felt as if something was wrong. She immediately turned her head once again upwards to see her stepmother hovering over her.

"Hinata...I know you told your father…" she whispered instantly surprising the young kunoichi, "I saw the way he looked at me last night. He knows about my spending. I know you told him."

She spat and all Hinata could do was frown. She had no idea what this woman was talking about but instead of retorting she decided to just keep her mouth shut. She closed her eyes and without warning her stepmother rolled up her sleeve to show her a large laceration on her arm. The young girl gasped and then immediately turned away. Hinata placed her hands on her bed trying her best to steady herself. She could hear her stepmother winching in pain but for some reason she didn't care.

"You told him, didn't you? Answer me!!!"

Hinata let out an exasperated sigh and then sprang to her feet in anger and glared at the red haired woman whom was the same height as her. Her purple pajama clung to her body as she stood in front of her stepmother. They both gave each other hurtful gazes and then turned away.

Turning her attention back to her, she curved her fists as if ready to hit her. _Why does she feel like she can control me? _ Hinata growled while gritting her teeth, "Told him, what?"

She muttered while her stepmother scoffed, fighting the urge to hit her.

"That you're no better than a prostitute and that you're always out partying almost every night." Hinata began breathing heavily in rage as she curved her fist tightly into a ball, "Oh and did I forget that you're almost drunk every night and the only reason my father is unaware is because he's been feeling sick for the past few weeks. You disgust me Haruna."

Her stepmother narrowed her eyes dangerously.

"Shut your mouth!!" she yelled slapping her hard on the face. The impact caused her to fall back on her bed, "How dare you talk to me in such a manner? I am your mother. You may be nineteen years old but you're still a child!!"

Hinata gave her a harsh glare while flipping her mid back hair from out of her face, "You'll never be my mother."

Haruna turned around with her back facing Hinata. She hugged her shoulders and then smirked evilly. In a quick motion she spun around to face Hinata once again, an evil twinkle could be seen gleaming in her eyes.

"You have some nerve saying such things when I saw you at that same bar a few months ago with some guy." she began as Hinata's eyes widen in fear.

'_She was there?' _ the young girl thought a bit surprised.

"Everyone thinks you're innocent and sweet but you're not. You're weak and pathetic and you'll never amount to anything. Always hanging around those guys pretending to be a ninja, you'll never make it. You're not good enough, too weak to perfect any jutsu."

Hinata wiped the blood stain from her mouth and sneered at her stepmother's haggard face, "Sorry I think you're confusing yourself with me."

"I'm warning you Hinata, if your father ever does this to me again. I'll make you regret the day you were born. And your sister I'll make sure she never walks again."

The young kunoichi sat up immediately, eyes widen in fear.

"By the way you better check up on her. She had a little accident last night, poor thing feel down the stairs." she giggled turning the doorknob on the door as she gave her a cocky grin, "I know she's been crying a lot over the pain so you better check up on her, you know before it's too late."

She let out a light shriek before turning to leave the room.

The dark purple haired girl made her way to her feet and in an instant rushed after her stepmother's retreating back, "Why you?"

She snared as the door slammed shut hard behind her stepmother. Hinata could almost feel her red hair in her grasped before the door slam shut and a pair of strong arms stopped her in her tracks.

She gasped immediately and looked down to see someone's arm being wrapped around her waist, holding her back as if to stop her from making a huge mistake. She breathes heavily trying her best to calm down her nerves but for some reason it wasn't working. She could feel the person resting its chin on her shoulder but that only made things worst. She felt a heavy pain strike her in her chest. After a few seconds her silver purplish eyes rolled back in her head and without warning she fell backwards landing immediately on her blond haired friend. A loud thump followed as they both hit the floor.

"Hinata…" came a whisper as she slowly opened her eyes to find herself in Naruto's arms.

Her head lay on his chest while his arms lay loosely around her waist trying his best to pick her up. Hinata gazed up at Naruto fighting the urge to smile at him. Slowly she sat up and he soon helped her onto her feet.

'_Why is he here? Does he want to get me in trouble?'_ she thought bowing her head, trying her best to think of the most logically reason he was in her room, _'I really don't want to speak to him right now. He's only going to make this worse.'_

"Hinata…" he paused getting her attention, "I'm sorry about that but I knew too well that you were going to use your Gentle Fist attack on her."

She closed her eyes and turned her head the other way. She wasn't afraid for some reason to let him know that she wasn't too happy to see him.

"Here…I brought you these." he stated placing the pink roses and ramen on her bed.

Hinata let out a little gasp hoping he didn't hear it and then frowned at him.

"I just want to apologize for what I said about you being weak, a few days ago. I didn't mean it Hinata, I was just trying to impress Sakura." he looked at her with hope lingering in her crystal blue eyes, "I'm sorry. You're a good friend to me and I don't want to lose that. So, can you please find it in your heart to forgive me?"

He gave her a solemn look while she stared him seriously. Her eyes glittered with tears as she looked at the gifts he had brought her. Deep down she actually felt that he really did care for her as a friend but she knew that his heart would always be with Sakura. And knowing that hurt the most. No matter what she did, she could never capture his heart because it was already attached to Sakura. And now that she was having an arranged marriage it felt better if she just stayed away from him to dull the pain of knowing that she would have to leave the village forever and never see him again. She let off a sigh and looked at him sternly.

Naruto was surprised to say the least to see the look Hinata was giving him. He remembered that look and the last time he saw it was when she was fighting in the chunnin exams. She stepped forward passing him and headed towards her window. Naruto turned to look her way while she gazed sadly out of the window.

"Naruto, I appreciate what you are trying to do but I think its best that you leave." she whispered bitterly, closing her eyes as she drew back the curtains from her window.

"Look Hinata, I'm serious. I'm really sorry!!" he declared, refusing to leave.

She closed her eyes, "Naruto…please leave."

He walked up towards her and stared immensely into her eyes. She gazed back at him sadly while a slight tear fell from her eyes. He really wanted to help her but he didn't know how. This wasn't the same Hinata he knew and he felt as if he could do something to help make her feel better. Slowly he placed his hand on her shoulder and she slapped his hand off of her. Naruto's eyes widen in shock.

"I said get out!!" she yelled glaring at him, "Just leave!!"

Naruto reluctantly closed his eyes and proceeded to jump out of the window, "I'm really sorry if I hurt you this bad, Hinata."

He whispered as he disappeared out of sight. Hinata stared sadly at his retreating back through her window, letting her tears run freely down her face. After a few minutes she collapsed onto the floor.

'_Naruto.'_

_TRAINING GROUNDS_

Naruto sighed. He had been following Hinata all day trying to figure out why she had tried to attack her stepmother and had spoke to him in that manner. At this present moment he was at the training ground where she and her teammates were practicing some new techniques. He was tired to say the least but he wasn't going to give up without a fight. He had even given up all hopes of training today but he wasn't going to give up on helping Hinata.

He had watched her all day run from places to places on errands that seem to last for hours. He was even surprised when he saw her rushing her sister to the hospital. She had spent almost half the day there talking to the doctors about her sister's injuries. After she had finished that she did some shopping and visited her former teacher Kurenai. Later she took a rest and then late in the afternoon she began training with her team.

The tall blond let out a light yawn hoping that they did not hear him. He hid himself cleverly in the bushes and tried his best to mask his chakra the best he could. Looking straight ahead he could see Hinata fighting Kiba and losing terribly. He cringed as he saw her hit the floor with great pressure, rolling continuously in the dirt. She coughed out blood and slowly began sitting up.

"Kiba!!" came a shout from Shino, their other teammate, "Take it easy on Hinata."

Shino replied while Naruto turned to see Hinata breathing heavily while on her knees. She struggled to get up but had a serious look on her face as if ready to kill someone at any moment. She continued gasping while gazing at her teammates with a dull look on her face.

Naruto's blue eyes turned to Kiba's direction, "Listen Shino. Hinata doesn't want me to go easy on her so I would be foolish to deny her request. You know how she gets when she's angry."

Shino walked up closer to Kiba on his right while staring straight ahead, "Yes but even though she may not want you to go easy on her, look at her. She isn't focus. Look at her stance as well. She's completely screwing it up."

Kiba turned to her direction and nodded his head. He immediately called Hinata and she slowly trod over towards her fellow male teammates. When she was close enough Kiba asked her if something was troubling her. Meanwhile Naruto still in the bushes strained her ears to hear what was being said.

"It's not Naruto, is it?" he asked touching her forehead.

The young girl blushed in an instant while shaking her head.

"No it's not. I'm just a little tired." she smirked trying her best to convince them.

"You're right. The sun's already setting, we probably should head home." Kiba stated with a slight grin, "Come on Hinata I'll walk you home."

The brown haired boy offered wrapping his arm around her shoulders. Hinata blushed profoundly and told him no. She told both her teammates that it was okay and that she would head home soon. Naruto found this a bit weird and soon realized that Hinata may have a crush on Kiba. The way she was acting so shy around him and blushing reminded him of his genin years when she would stutter and faint at just the sight of him. Did she actually like him then?

'_Did Hinata really like me as Sakura said?'_ he thought feeling a little jealously.

Lately and over the years Hinata had not been acting shy around him and he used to wonder why but he figured she was just more comfortable being in his presence. He ducked his head as he watched her pass by heading towards the bridge where Team 7, his team would always met. He frowned upon seeing the young girl hug herself tightly while crying. Her dark purple hair flew lightly around her as she closed her eyes as if to rid herself of the pain she was feeling. Her grey and purple sweater lay loosely on her body as she continued to whisper words to herself.

Naruto decided to walk towards her. Although she had treated him badly earlier he knew she had a reason for doing so.

"I don't want to go…" he heard her whisper, "Please Hinabi be alright. This is all my fault."

He was almost close to her when she spun around in an instant activating her Byakugan as she rushed at him throwing her fist. She had already sensed his chakra signature and wasn't afraid to attack him, "Leave me alone Naruto. I don't want to speak with you!!"

Naruto smirked as he caught her fist with little effort. A loud slapping sound occurred and Hinata let out a gasp realizing what she almost did.

"Naruto…why won't you leave me alone?" she muttered, staring up at his crystal blue eyes.

"Because you're my friend and I care about you." he replied letting go of her hand and placing his hands in his pockets, "I don't know what is going on but you can tell me. I'll try my best to help you."

She turned away from him, "There is nothing you can do to help me."

'_I have to marry a stranger and leave the village. How can you possibly stop that?'_

Naruto growled at her, "That's nonsense Hinata. There is always a solution to a problem you just have to find it and you don't have to fight this battle alone."

Hinata's silver purplish eyes glittered with pain and sorrow and she stared at the water below. She wiped her face refusing to let her tears fall. Why did he have to be so nice to her all of a sudden? Especially now when she was so depressed.

"You don't have to be alone." he whispered as she turned towards him.

Slowly he placed his arm around her shoulder as she struggled to get out of his grip.

"Naruto…I just want to be alone." she gazed into his eyes and he glared back with the same intensity as she did.

"No. You never gave up on me and I'll never give up on you." he smirked as he pulled her into a tight embrace.

Hinata held onto his orange and black jacket tightly refusing to let go. Why was Naruto doing this to her? Didn't he know hanging around her only made her departure harder? She couldn't tell anyone yet he wanted to help. Why now? Naruto looked down at the young girl to see her crying desperately on his shoulder. Soft droplets soaked his jacket while he continued to pat her lightly on her back. She clung onto him harshly digging her nails into his jacket as she wrapped her small arms around his back.

"It'll be alright, Hinata." he whispered into her ear, "No matter what it is I'll be here."

"Thank you Naruto." she smiled a bit while tears continued to flow down her face.

She buried her face into the crock of his neck as she continued to cry her heart out. A large cloud slowly moved causing the full moon to shine its light on the river and on the two teens below. Naruto didn't care how long he had to stay with Hinata he wasn't leaving until she felt at least a bit better. No matter what he wasn't going to abandon her.

'_Hinata, I don't know what's going on in your home but I promise to protect you at all cost.' _he thought as he stroked her hair lightly.

'_Thanks for everything Naruto, I just wish that it didn't take my change of attitude and dilemma for you to finally notice me more.' _she thought savoring the scent of miso ramen on his jacket.

_----------------------------------_

Hinata: I never thought there would come a day when I would have to say that Naruto is annoying but today he is. He's continually annoying me and trying to feed me telling me that I'm too thin.

Naruto: Come on Hinata, you need to eat up. You've lost about ten pounds already!! You're practically falling away!!

Hinata: Naruto, that's not true!! (Blushes deeply)

And what's worse is that we're trapped together on a mission with our teammates. How will I survive with him keeping breathing down my throat?

_Next time: A weird mission _

_----------------------------------_

_Wow!! I just want to say again Merry Christmas everyone and thanks for reading this chapter. It took me a long time to finish but it's finally here and on Christmas day what a record. I feel so proud. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and please leave a review. It would be the best Christmas gift ever. Even though Christmas day is practically over. No matter better late than ever I always say. Please brighten my day with a review and I'll try to update as soon as I can. Later!!_

_PhantasyDreamer_


	4. A Weird Mission

_PhantasyDreamer: Happy New Year to everyone and all the best for 2010! This is my first update for the new year and also on my birthday as well. So this is also a gift to myself. I apologize for not updating in over so long but a lot has happened in my life to cause me to not get my stories done like how I would like to. _

_Anyway without giving you guys anymore excuses, here is the new chapter for this story. Please note that there are some changes I have made. I have changed Naruto's age to twenty one and Hinata's age to twenty. I've thought about it long and hard and came to the decision after something I have read. So if you have read the previous chapters and see that there is a new age in this chapter, just know that I will make the corrections as soon as I can. _

_Well I don't own Naruto, just the plot. Enjoy!!_

* * *

_Hidden Power in a Shy Flower _

_Chapter 4: A Weird Mission _

_Last time: She buried her face into the crock of his neck as she continued to cry her heart out. A large cloud slowly moved causing the full moon to shine its light on the river and on the two teens below. Naruto didn't care how long he had to stay with Hinata he wasn't leaving until she felt at least a bit better. No matter what he wasn't going to abandon her._

'_Hinata, I don't know what's going on in your home but I promise to protect you at all cost.' he thought as he stroked her hair lightly. 'Thanks for everything Naruto, I just wish that it didn't take my change of attitude and dilemma for you to finally notice me more.' she thought savoring the scent of miso ramen on his jacket. _

_The story continues…_

* * *

Hinata let off a heavy sigh. She wasn't expecting this at all. Here she was in the Hokage's office at seven in the morning for some unknown reason but she still found her way there. Lady Tsunade had not discussed the reason she had summoned the young people instead she had just requested that they arrive at her office first thing in the morning. It had been two days since the crying incident on the bridge with Naruto and after that she had tried her best to accept her horrible fate, having an arranged marriage to a stranger. She had not seen Naruto after that incident and had just assumed that he was out training or something.

She turned to her left to see Sakura, Ino, Naruto, Kiba and Shino together waiting for the Hokage to start speaking. Obviously, it was a mission assignment but she just couldn't figure out why it required so much of them.

'_Oh, I hope Hinabi's feeling better.'_ she thought sadly, playing with her fingers.

The dark purple haired girl turned her gaze up towards the Hokage to see her frowning while taping her nails harshly on the table. Everyone could see that the Hokage wasn't too happy about this predicament but they remained calm. She was angry as they could tell by the way she was tapping her fingernails on the desk. Everyone remained silent waiting for her to begin her speech.

She immediately cleared her throat and began speaking.

"I've called you all here for a mission." she said while the others stared at her immensely, "The ANBU Black Ops have been investigating a possible Orochimaru infestation over the last couple of months. We believe there is an orphanage somewhere off in the Land of Tea that is recruiting special needs babies and young children. They are experimenting on the children to create soldiers of war. They have disguised their operation as an orphanage in order to not be detected."

She paused a minute, placing both hands under her chin.

"The thing is we have been monitoring this situation closely and we feel that now is the time to take action. We can eliminate their forces and close down their compound for good."

She moved her right hand towards her drawer and pulled out a small manila folder. Opening it, she turned her golden eyes upwards.

"Hinata!!" she yelled, causing the young girl to shriek.

"Ah-Yes."

The blond haired woman nodded with a slight smirk on her face, "You remember Mr. Tsukino…don't you?"

"Why…y-yes…" she paused, feeling a bit embarrassed by her stutter, "I do remember him…yes."

"Well it appears that the same thing has happened yet again." she heard a gasp from Hinata, "His daughter has been kidnapped. Princess Sukina was abducted by someone in the royal household."

"Oh."

"Mr. Tsukino is here and will take you all towards the orphanage he believes his daughter resides at which is a far off to the east of this village." she stated, hastily, "This is a B rank rescue mission and I expect a full report when you all get back. Each one of you is required to play apart in this mission. Rescue Mr. Tsukino's daughter and get out of there. The Anbu Black Ops will follow after you as soon as your rescue mission is completed. They will proceed with shutting down this operation for good."

They all nodded in response. The blond haired woman then cleared her throat trying her best not to show how stressed out she was. She also ignored the glares she was getting from her dear friend, Naruto. She knew he was upset because she had disrupted him from his training but that this matter was of great importance. It didn't matter whether he thought the mission was important or not.

"I want two ninjas to play the part of the parents while another ninja will transform into a baby. I recommend Hinata for this position. Her Byakugan will come in handy for the leading investigation and also since she is very much familiar with Mr. Tsukino's daughter, there would be no problems in rescuing her. The posing parents are up for grabs. Meanwhile the remaining ninjas will scout the area and stand on guard to provide backup if necessary. Is that understood?"

She asked as they all nodded in response. Naruto grumbled but remained quiet.

"Shino will be the leader of the group. If there are no questions, then that is all. You're all dismissed."

The six young people left the office and headed to the outer part of the building where they met Mr. Tsukino, who was waiting patiently for them. In silence they rushed home for their bags and personal belongings and then proceeded to meet up at the village gates a few minutes later.

_~*~ VILLAGE GATES ~*~_

The young dark purple haired girl tapped her foot impatiently while waiting for a certain blond haired boy to meet her and her teammates at the village gates. They had been waiting almost twenty minutes and were getting pretty annoyed. Kiba, Shino and Ino could be seen standing still with a bored expression on their faces. While Mr. Tsukino stood still with his arms folded impatiently. He had long black hair that trailed down his back. Turning away from him, Hinata noticed that Mr. Tsukino resembled her father very much in his appearance. She sighed.

'_Oh Naruto, what's wrong with you now?'_

"What's taking him so long?!!" Sakura yelled, placing her hand on her forehead to block out the sunlight from her eyes, "He's always late!!"

"I'm sure he has a valid reason for being late." Hinata whispered as she bowed her head in defeat.

"Yeah right. He always does this."

Another twenty minutes later, Naruto strolled towards his fellow teammates whom had looks of anger and disappointment on their faces. When he saw their expression he immediately began laughing in embarrassment. He scratched his back trying his best to lighten the mood.

"Uh…sorry you guys. I just got caught up with something."

'_Wonder what that could be?' _his pink haired teammate thought accusingly.

He grinned widely earning a glare from Sakura. The others just scoffed deciding it was best not to give a response.

"Since that's done, let's head out." Shino, the team leader replied almost in a whisper, "We're already late as it is."

Naruto ignored his statement and immediately began trotting ahead of the gang. They all followed soon after and began heading towards the village gates in silence. This was definitely going to be a difficult mission.

_~*~HYUGGA'S HOUSEHOLD~*~_

Hiashi sat up in his bed suddenly feeling a striking pain hit him hard in his lower back. He bit back a yelp and rubbed the area where the source of the pain came from. Turning to his left, he placed his legs onto the floor and sighed. This was his regular routine, everyday it was a pain to get out of bed and he was slowly beginning to lose feeling in his upper arms and legs. He wiped his forehead and thought back on what happened the day before. Having to tell his daughter the news brought such heartache to him but he refused to let her see that. He didn't want her to know how much he was hurting when he saw the expression of shock on her face when he told her whom she was to marry. The thought of his first-born getting married to his worst enemy ripped through his heart like a two edged sword. What could be worse than that? Slowly, he placed his hand on the edge of the bed to steady himself. He frowned as he watched his nervous arm shake tremendously.

'_When will this ever stop? Hasn't Lady Tsunade found a cure as yet?' _

"Hiashi dear, are you alright?" came a voice, sliding the door widely across the threshold.

A tall red haired woman stood in front of him with a wide grin on her face.

"I'm fine. Where's Hinabi? I haven't seen her lately."

He asked suddenly, unaware of how desperate he sounded.

His wife walked slowly into the room making sure to slide the door close behind her. She let off a sigh wondering how she should relay the information to her husband of a few years. Her light pink kimono swished with her every movement.

"Uh…" she paused, earning a glare from the man before her, "She's taking a rest. She's been real tired lately."

Hiashi arched and eyebrow in surprise.

"Why so? What has she been doing?" he inquired, arching an annoyed eyebrow.

Haruna giggled as she placed a cup of tea on the small table next to Hiashi's bed. He narrowed his eyes at his wife's gesture and frowned. Why was she laughing and what did she mean by that? He cleared his throat figuring it was best to find out why. Besides, something didn't seem right by the way she reacted. And since he had last delivered the dreadful news to Hinata he had not seen his children much, instead he had retired to his room unable to bear the pain of moving around. He last saw Hinata last night though, before her mission and that proved to be a dreaded encounter.

"What's so funny?" he asked, curiously sounding a bit mad.

"It's just the expression on your face, sweetheart." she whispered, giving him a peck on the cheek.

He watched her cautiously and wondering if she was lying. For some reason it felt as if she was trying to hide something from him but he couldn't tell what it was. He figured he was just being delusional because of his illness.

Sighing, he tried to hide how much he missed having a woman in his life. Although, he was married to Haruna for a few years no one knew that he still wasn't over his first wife, the mother of his two children. She was so kind and gentle, completely nothing like his present wife. He almost found the predicament he found himself in to be quite weird. A few years back he had met Haruna on a mission and had reluctantly rescued her from the enemy forces. After his mission was completed he returned to the Leaf Village and was surprised to see Haruna there in the hospital. He had visited her once out of pity and had refused to go back to check up on her afterwards. Besides, it wasn't as if he had feelings for her. Unfortunately for him, after she was released from the hospital she continued to visit him despite his request to not see her. She soon proved her worth and registered as a Leaf Village citizen. One year and a half later they began dating and got married two months after that.

"I'll let you know when you can see her." she stated and saw him raise an eyebrow once again, "She's fine, don't worry."

"Alright, as long as I can see her later." he strained a smirk, relaxing his face.

He muttered almost too soft for her to hear but she did. Haruna gave her husband another kiss before moving towards the door. She turned back to look at him with a sly smile which of course he didn't notice. Pausing a moment as if to think the matter over, she saw that he was still sitting there with his head bowed.

"I'll be back in a few minutes sweetheart, get some rest."

With that she walked through the exit, turned around and slid the door closed behind her.

Walking a few feet from the door she turned the corner grumpily, scratching her long red hair.

'_I've got to find that girl. Where could she be?'_ she thought biting her lip, _'Hinata must have taken her some place. That little runt is getting on my nerves.'_

The red head woman continued to walk down the corridor that lead to the downstairs kitchen when without warning a servant girl passed by and accidently bumped into her. She growled at the young girl before grabbing her harshly by the arms.

"Listen to me I want you to find out immediately where Hinabi is and bring her here now. I don't care where you have to look, just find her!!"

"Yes madam."

"IMMEDIATELY!!"

She screamed as the young girl scrambled out of the house as quickly as her little legs could take her. Haruna glared at the servant girl's back as she slowly drifting out of sight. She sneered in anger wondering how she would be able to explain things to her husband if he found out about this.

_~*~IN THE FOREST~*~_

"Here's a safe spot." Shino replied, jumping from a tree branch.

There was silence as the other ninjas followed their leader. The tall young boy known as Shino then turned his attention to his teammates for the mission and frowned, his long cream and black cloak blowing lightly in the wind. Mr. Tsukino could be seen on the far end walking into the clearing.

'_Now, how am I suppose to do this?'_ he thought, remembering the words that the Hokage had said, _'I know what to do. Let's just hope there's no confusion that will follow.'_

He eyed his teammates and tried to assess the situation at hand. What could be done that would not cause things to go down hill? They had been travelling for hours and it was now almost night time. They still had almost a half day journey before reaching the Land of Tea and then finding the orphanage. Shino thought it would be best to set up camp first then assign who would take part along with Hinata in being parents of the so called child. After a few minutes when the tents were finally up he turned to them. Everyone was standing except for Hinata, who was sitting on a log obviously tired.

He frowned, eyeing his dark purple haired friend. She looked absolutely nervous and tired for some reason but he figured it was because she was in the presence of Naruto. Unfortunately, she had not been teamed up with him for quite some time since his return back to the village from his three year training with Jaraiya. But he knew deep in his heart that no matter what she said or did, she still cared for the crazy boy. He cleared his throat getting the attention of his comrades.

"This part of the mission is not really an issue for me. But who wants to be the parents?"

There was immediate silence. Shino didn't know what to take of it but he eyed Ino first, then Kiba, Sakura, Naruto and lastly Hinata. His dark purple haired friend was to be the baby as suggested by the Hokage but he couldn't think of anyone to assign as parents, deciding it was best for them to just choose on their own.

"I do. Sakura and I will do it!!!" Naruto yelled hugging onto his pink haired friend mercilessly.

He broke the uneasy silence catching Sakura off guard and almost causing her to fall to the grass. The other young ninjas turned towards the twenty one year old knuckle head ninja and frowned. Sakura punched him lightly and he grinned barely feeling the effects of the punch.

'_Way to make things real obvious Naruto.'_ Kiba thought, scratching his short brown hair, _'Now Hinata's gonna get all depressed again.' _

'_I wonder what Naruto's thinking by doing that?'_ Ino thought, biting her lips, _'Does he like Hinata and is trying to make her jealous? If so, it's not gonna work. Hinata's not going to fight for something that doesn't belong to her.'_

"Alright then. If you agree Sakura we'll begin first thing in the morning with the implementation."

"I agree." She muttered while the others nodded in response.

They all moved to gather around the light fire that Kiba had created and sat down on the grass. Hinata watched as everyone sat around the fireplace, Naruto next to Sakura, Ino next to Kiba and Shino while she was on the opposite side by herself as if she was a lone ranger. Mr. Tsukino wasn't too far from her however. She immediately sprang to her feet while the others turned their attention to her. She let off a deep sigh and closed her eyes.

"I'm going to the river to freshen up." she whispered, refusing to make eye contact with her teammates.

Shino arched an eyebrow through his dark shades.

'_What's she up to?' _

"Hinata, the river is too far from here. I think you should wait until morning."

"No!!" she blurted out shocking them. Placing her hands to her mouth, she sighed and then turned fully to Shino, "I just need some time alone. I'll be safe, I promise Shino."

She smirked as he thought the matter over. After a few seconds he agreed.

"Thank you Shino." she whispered, waving goodbye to her teammates with a smile.

She walked away then began sprinting towards the river. When Shino thought she was out of sight he issued for Kiba to follow.

"Follow her but keep out of sight."

"Right."

There was a long pause after the two left the group. Everyone was thinking about the mission and also what was up with Hinata. Something just wasn't right. Sakura and Ino began whispering and talking among themselves while Shino and Naruto sat on opposite sides of the fire glaring at it. Suddenly Naruto stood up.

"I'm going to the river too." he muttered in an angry tone.

"No way, we're all sticking together." Shino stated harshly, refusing to look at Naruto, "Besides, it's going to get dark soon."

The blond haired boy folded his arms and frowned, "Well if that's true. Then why did you let Hinata and Kiba go?"

The clad shaded boy turned toward Naruto almost irritated.

"Because…" he paused.

'_Because I know that something is bothering Hinata and it's best to give her some space at this time.'_

"Because what? Is she and Kiba a couple or something?" he asked, anger could be heard trailing heavily in his voice.

"Naruto…would you calm down a minute?" his pink haired friend asked, making her way to her feet.

"No way. I just want to know what's going on." he started, pushing Sakura's hand off of his shoulder.

The brown haired young man made his way to his feet silently. He adjusted his shades in annoyance by Naruto's outburst and decided to set him straight.

"First off, you'll have to ask Hinata if she's dating Kiba…" he stated in a monotone accent, "…and secondly Hinata's my teammate and I know her enough to know when something is bothering her. Right now she's going through something and I think it's best to just give her some space. Kiba's just there to ensure that she's not in danger. I think its best that you conserve your energy and wait until they get back."

"Come on Naruto, just sit down."

The blond haired young man growled before plopping down on the grass with his arms folded like a little child. He didn't believe him one bit.

"Alright…whatever."

"I'll be the lookout for now."

Mr. Tsukino could be seen standing on the side as if in a daze. Shino frowned and walked towards a tree. He then proceeded to jump onto it.

'_I hope everything is alright with you, Hinata.'_

_~*~LEAF VILLAGE~*~_

Neji Hyuuga trotted slowly down the dirt road with a frown plastered heavily on his face. He didn't like this one bit. First he had to go to the hospital to check up on Hanabi and see how she was doing, then he had to run errands for Tenten and that took up almost all of the day. Finally when he thought he had time for some training, he had to rush towards Hinata's former sensei's address to check up on her. He mumbled to himself wondering why he had even bothered to listen when Hinata had asked, or more in a sense begged him to see how her teacher was doing. After all, she was all alone in her condition and was secluded from everyone. She had frequent visits in the day by doctors but at night, she was mostly at home alone.

'_She better be here and not out taking a walk.'_ he thought miserably.

The brown haired man knocked on the door lightly. He waited a few seconds but heard nothing. Feeling a bit anxious, he slowly turned to knob to see that the door was not locked but open. He pushed the door and walked into the house not forgetting to close it behind him. It was quiet and appeared to be empty. Scanning the room he could see that nothing was out of place but he couldn't help the eerie feeling he was getting as if something was wrong. Walking down the hall, he passed the kitchen on his left and another room further down. After a few seconds he made his way into the living room, clothes could be seen on the chairs and a few toys lay on the floor. The room was medium sized room big enough for a family.

"Kurenai…" he called but got no answer, "Kurenai-sensei, are you in here?"

He walked a bit further into the living room while his mid back brown hair moved from side to side. Neji came close to the sofa from his right and saw a hand laying face up on the wooden floor. He immediately rushed over to see Kurenai lying on the floor as if unconscious. Kneeling before her, he slowly placed his arms under her back for support, making sure to not hurt her in the process.

"Kurenai-sensei…" he whispered, as she slowly opened her eyes, "What happened?"

She groaned as she leaned in his arms for support.

"I tripped on one of Akira's toys and fell hard on the floor."

He grunted feeling her weight press down on his arms.

"Let me help you to the couch." he stated sternly.

Slowly, he strained to get her on her feet. Her condition made it even worse for him to get her up. After a few seconds he got her to the couch. Wiping the sweat from his forehead he let out a deep sigh.

"Are you sure you'll be alright?"

She nodded, her face showing that she was still in pain.

"Well Hinata wanted me to check up on you and make sure you were feeling alright." he started, scanning the room for any intruders, "She's on a mission and should be back in a few days."

She smirked at him, "Thank you Neji."

The silver purplish eyes man frowned. Something wasn't right. He could feel it in his nerves. He glanced around and then turned back to the black haired woman. She was groaning a bit and had her right hand placed on her large stomach. Breathing deeply he could see sweat rolling off of her face. Her shoulder length black hair stuck to her face.

"Right, thanks a lot." she let out a deep sigh, and then in took a deep breath, "Uh oh."

"What? What is it?"

She giggled a little not believing her circumstance.

"This can't be happening…I-I think my water just broke."

Neji froze in his position. Her what just broke? Her water? The tall young man could only stand still as if in a daze. He didn't come here for this. He only came to help out his cousin whom he should've just ignored but _no_ he decided to be nice and help her out by visiting her sensei for her. Look how great that turned out to be.

'_This is not my day.'_

"Neji!!!" she screamed, taking him out of his trance, "I said that I'm going to have this baby!!"

He remained silent not knowing what to do. Sure he learnt the basics in the academy about child birth but this was real life and a totally different experience nonetheless. He knelt before her obviously nervous but tried his best not to show it. He took her hand in his trying to reassure her that everything would be alright.

"I'll get Lady Tsunade to come, just hold the baby in for a few minutes, alright?"

Kurenai gave him a harsh glare. Hold the baby in? Was he serious?

"Are you out of your mind?" she screamed harshly into his ear, "You're not going anywhere!!"

"Kurenai…I'll get help. I won't take long I promise."

"NOOOOOO!!"

She screamed loudly into the dark night.

_~*~BY THE RIVER~*~_

Hinata stopped by the edge of the water panting heavily. She had just been running for almost ten minutes when she finally made it to the river. It wasn't as big as she had expected it to be but it held a calming mood to it. Taking off her black ninja sandals, she slipped into the clear water. It was cold that she could tell but she tried her best not to show how much it was bothering her. Lifting up her pants leg, she walked deeper into the lake until it reached her hips.

'_What am I going to do? It's so depressing being on this mission with Sakura and Naruto.'_ she thought bitterly, closing her eyes as the wind blew through her hair, _'I can truly see that Sakura is starting to look at Naruto differently, maybe even have feelings for him and plus Naruto's affections for her are so obvious it's making me so sad. I know I have to leave this village soon but this is almost too much to deal with right now.'_

She sighed and made her way back to the shore. She sat down on the grassy bed of the shore and took her ninja backpack off of her shoulders. Sighing, the dark purple haired girl took out a towel from her bag and wrapped it around her body, wiping her wet legs in the process. Placing her sandals back on her feet, she stared dully at the water watching the way the currents pushed the waves to and fro. The current wasn't too strong but she couldn't help but marvel at the beauty of it. Hinata let out a slight laugh at her stupidity.

'_I'm so foolish to believe that Naruto would truly return my feelings after all these years. I'm not sure if he truly knows how I feel anymore but it doesn't matter because he loves Sakura even now. He said so himself.'_ she thought, as a tear dropped from her right eye, _'Plus, Father has already made his decision so I have no other choice but to comply.'_

It rolled down her cheek and under her chin before falling onto her lilac and white jacket. She pulled her legs up under her chin and sighed. Just thinking about it was too much but she couldn't help it. The thought of spending the rest of her life with a stranger was horrible. She could almost deal with it if she was still to reside in the village but since she was to be sent away from her family and friends she didn't know how she would handle it when the day came. How could she tell Shino and Kiba? More importantly how would Naruto react? Would he even care? Her thoughts went back to the night when he stayed with her and hugged her refusing to let go. He was so kind and caring towards her that she almost felt like there was still hope that they could be together. But she was being hopeful for no reason. She knew for a fact that he only felt pity for her and that was the reason he had tried to figure out what was wrong. After that he had ignored her for two days, she knew now that nothing would ever be the same again.

She buried her face in her legs and began crying. No one was around so she wouldn't have to worry about anyone asking her any questions. Crying desperately she dug her nails into her pants leg. Luckily, it was a bit baggy and thick preventing her from harming herself. Just as she was pouring her heart out in tears she heard a twig snap. Gasping, she lifted up her head and activated her Byakugan on impulse. Turning around she found the culprit and then turned back towards the river.

"What are you doing here?" she whispered, refusing to turn back around.

The figure sighed making his way out of the bushes. He walked a bit standing right beside her.

"Shino requested that I keep an eye on you." Kiba muttered, plopping himself down on the grass.

He smirked and then turned to look at his teammate. What he saw shocked him. Her eyes were a bright red and her pale face was completely flushed. He could see tear stains marked down both sides of her face and she looked as if she was about to faint. He frowned knowing that it had to be something quite serious to have her crying heavily like that.

'_Must be Naruto.'_ he thought cautiously.

"So, you mind telling me what's bothering you so much?" he asked curiously, stretching his arms behind his back.

"Kiba…I…" she paused, thinking back on what happened last night before her mission briefing this morning.

_~*~FLASHBACK~*~_

Hinata had just finished eating dinner when she made her way up the long stairs that led to the second floor. She saw her father walking slowly towards his study room. He looked as if he was in terrible pain but managed not to show it too much on his face. Holding onto his cane with great pressure he dragged his foot and body towards his destination. The young girl made her way onto the large platform before turning towards her father's retreating back.

"Father, may I have a word with you?" Hinata asked, breaking the silence on the floor.

Hiashi growled refusing to look his daughter in the eye. Besides, why was she bothering him now? Especially since he was having another one of his episodes? He suppressed a moan and let out a deep sigh.

"Hinata, I am busy. I don't have time for you to be bothering m-"

"It's about my betrothal." she whispered abruptly interrupting him and placing her right hand in front of her chest.

Her father stopped moving and turned around sharply. He glared dangerously at his eldest daughter before letting out a sigh. It was now or never, he had to come clean or at least listen to what she had to say even if he didn't want to or even cared.

"Follow me." he muttered.

The pair walked slowly into the large room known as the study room. Hinata took a seat in a chair that stood in front of a large oak desk while her father pulled out a chair behind the table and abruptly sat down. There was immediate silence as the two looked at each other. Hiashi opened a draw and pulled out a small folder. He wore a dark brown Yukata that trailed to his shin bone.

"This is your groom to be…" her father stated with a frown, "His name is Katsumi Miura. He is a high level ninja of the Land of Snow. He will make a fine husband for you, my daughter."

Hinata opened the folder and gazed at the man before her. He appeared to be in his mid twenties and had short dark black hair. His grey eyes looked stern in the picture and the young woman could see that this man could be a strict person highly depended upon heavy training and discipline just like her father. Hinata turned her attention back to her father and frowned. Ever since she found out whom she was to marry she had been completely miserable. However, she felt like she couldn't take hearing this anymore. She gulped and glared sternly at her father.

"No! I will not marry him."

Hiashi bit back his shock by laughing.

"Hinata do not try my patience. You _will_ marry Katsumi."

She narrowed her eyes at her father and made her way to her feet. Letting out a deep sigh she looked him straight in the eye, her light blue kimono swishing as she moved in the chair.

"No. What's more important is your health and what is causing you to be that sick that you only have one month to live." she replied angrily, placing her two fingers on her father's forehead as if to calm herself.

Sadly she was trying to slow down one of his chakra points but it was far more difficult to get to them through his forehead. He glared at her and instantly knocked her fingers off of his forehead. Hinata gasped as her hand fell sharply on the desk and her face went forward. Her silver purplish eyes looked at her father a bit surprised, pain running through her hand. The young girl kept her gaze at her father's face while he looked at her without even blinking. He had gotten much older over the years and she was a bit shocked to see the heavy lines under his eyes. Most of the front of his hairline was practically gray but she knew he would dye them dark brown whenever he had to make public appearances. However since she had not spoken to her father two days ago it almost appeared as if he had aged even more in that short space in time.

The girl gulped when she felt her father push her by her forehead back into her chair. She grunted when she hit the hard surface with great pressure.

"Hinata…do not do that again." he growled closing his eyes.

The young girl gasped again this time in fear. Never in all her life had she seen him look at her like that, despite his harsh treatment to her as a child. He never gave her that specific gaze as if he would kill her in a split second. Hinata frowned. Was this what her stepmother was talking about? His blind rage? She held her wrist in pain trying to slow down her heart beat.

"My health is of no consequence to you." he began, letting off a deep sigh.

He could feel his blood pressure rising rapidly and his heart rate. He reached into the desk immediately for his pills and popped two in his mouth and quickly got a drink of water. He then turned back to her and sighed. His illness was the cause of this. Ever since he found out what had happened to him only one month ago he had been having episodes of anger and been violent towards people and that was not in his nature.

"Hinata…please do not challenge me." he began massaging his forehead, "You know that you are doing this for the good of the clan. Arranged marriages are a normal practice of this clan. Many have done it even I have."

She sneered at her father.

"Normal practice? Then why is Neji not married?" she frowned.

"Neji is of the branch clan and is not subjected to the standards that you are."

Hinata scoffed folding her arms.

"Father I wish for you to reconsider. It would be more beneficial for me to live in the Leaf Village and not be shipped off to some foreign country plus marrying someone from t his village who is used to our customs would be a great asset as well." she muttered dangerously ignoring the glare her father was giving her, "Please reconsider, this is really unfair and an injustice to me."

She whispered trying to calm herself down. Before she knew it two tears rolled down her cheek.

"Why must I sacrifice my life for the sake of the clan? What have they ever done for me?"

The dark haired man stared at his eldest daughter in compassion. He didn't want to say anything to let her know how much his heart was breaking at that very moment but he tried his best to keep a straight face. Answering her questions would only make him lose his focus and show his daughter how bad he felt about the situation she found herself in because of him.

"Hinata…" he began.

"Father please don't make me do this!!" she yelled getting out of her seat.

She began crying loudly while standing in front of the desk with her hands on the table. Shaking lightly she continued to cry.

"Enough!!" he yelled, cause his daughter to gasp, "Save your tears Hinata. Everything has already been arranged, there is nothing else for us to discuss. You will marry Katsumi and that is final!"

The dark purple haired girl stepped back and turned her back at her father heading towards the door. She stopped and turned back around. Hinata could see that her father was still staring at her sternly and had not moved from his position.

"Father…" she began, "Why are you always so cruel to me?"

"Because you are supposed to be the heir to the main branch but your skills have disappointed me numerous times that you are considered worthless to both me and the clan elders."

The young girl gasped once again in shock. She knew her father thought little of her but she didn't realize that he thought so little about her.

"But I've tried…I've tried to gain your approval countless times. I've even learnt some new jutsus. Why are you saying this? I've done all that I can to be a better ninja."

"That's enough Hinata."

"I'm never gonna be good enough for you, am I father?" a single tear rolled down her cheek once again, "What more can I give? Why can't you just accept me as I am?"

She gripped the door handle tightly fighting the urge of breaking down and crying on the wooden floor.

"Father please…" she choked out, "You'll kill me inside if I have to marry this man. I don't think I can-"

"SILENCE!!" he yelled, slamming his hand on the desk, "I will not tolerate insubordination from you _my daughter_. Now dry your tears and head to bed. This matter is over and a decision has been made. Deal with it!!"

Hinata huffed, wiping her tear stricken face. She turned to her father and looked at him with all the resentment she could muster. He never cared about her and never will.

"I HATE YOU!!" she yelled, quickly storming out of the room.

Hiashi stared at the empty spot where his child had just left. He sighed deeply bowing his head. The last person to have told him that was his first wife.

_~*~__END OF FLASHBACK~*~_

"Hinata…" Kiba sighed, pulling the girl into his arms.

He still didn't quite get what was upsetting her but he knew it had to be more serious than Naruto not liking her. Besides, she was actually crying her heart out and clawing at herself. He had never seen her in this state before and he wondered if this was a regular occurrence he was not aware of.

"Everything will be alright," he whispered tapping her lightly on her back, "Hinata…you have to stop crying. You could make yourself sick."

Hinata nodded and stopped for a moment while pushing herself slowly out of her teammate's arms. They both got to their feet and the young girl tried her best to brighten herself up but it was no use. Kiba kept his arms around her trying his best to steady her as he took up her backpack.

"Let's head back, the others must be worrying." he stated and Hinata gasped, only realizing that it was already dark out.

Had she been crying that long? She stopped her teammate and turned around quickly.

"Kiba." she began in a slight whisper, "I'll follow after you. Go back without me, I don't want the others to suspect anything. Besides, I think I should try and wash my face and at least get rid of any signs that I was crying."

The young man before her paused as if thinking the matter over. He then nodded his head and placed her backpack on the grassy bed.

"Alright, just don't take too long."

"Thanks Kiba."

"Not a problem, Hinata." he stated giving her a kiss on the forehead before disappearing into the dark night.

After he was gone the young girl fell to her knees in front of the water and began washing her face. She couldn't tell how long she had been crying but she knew it was quite long and besides that she didn't want the others to start asking questions about her strange behavior. She almost felt guilty that she could not even confide in her teammate for some sort of advice, instead she had to face this alone. Hinata sighed when she felt her stomach growl. She had not eaten for most of the day, having her mind occupied with the events of her miserable life. It wasn't until she had finished drying her face when she felt someone tap her on the shoulder. She jumped upon impulse and whirled around.

"Hey...Nar-Naruto?"

"Here." he muttered, handing a small red apple to her.

She gazed at it stunned. Besides that Naruto sounded as if he was angry. She took the apple from his grasp a bit uncertain of whether to eat it or not.

"Naruto what are you-"

"Come on Hinata, you need to eat up. You've lost about ten pounds already!! You're practically falling away!!

He yelled waving his right hand in anger. Her eyes widen in fear.

'_What?'_

"Naruto, that's not true!!" she yelled closing her eyes and blushing deeply.

She rushed to her feet and staggered back a bit.

"You see what I'm talking about? You don't even have the strength to stand on your own two feet."

Hinata closed her eyes. She couldn't believe she was having this type of conversation with Naruto of all people. Besides, that why was he here? Was he spying on her?

"Why do you care? Since when did my health become your personal business?" she asked, bitterly.

Naruto scratched his blond hair and laughed off his shock. Never in his life had he heard the shy girl before him speak in such a manner towards him except for the last time he had apologized but this was becoming a regular occurrence to him.

"Hinata…" he began, unsure of what to say, "I'm just a bit concern. I thought you were over this situation and by the way I saw you hanging on to Kiba I figured that something must have seriously happened to you. Plus, since the mission started I haven't seen you eat at least once."

The young girl let out a deep exhale.

"Naruto…please just leave me alone." she stated, bowing her head, "I don't want your food and I don't need your sympathy."

She threw the apple onto the floor and stepped on it.

'_Why am I saying this? I shouldn't be jealous that he loves __Sakura.'_ she thought sadly, _'Besides, why would he like such a failure such as myself? I can't even get myself out of an arranged marriage.'_

Naruto growled as he watched the squashed apple under Hinata's feet. When did she turn into this cruel person? What was really wrong with her?

'_What's going on with her?'_

"You're right. I shouldn't care. I'll just leave the healing process to your boyfriend, Kiba." he muttered, stomping away in anger.

Hinata couldn't tell if it was because he was angry or jealous. But she could tell by the tone of his voice that he was a bit jealous. And besides, when did she say that Kiba was her boyfriend?

'_I'm so sorry Naruto. Maybe it's best that we never talk again. Best for my heart__ at least.'_ she thought looking into the dark sky, as a light breeze blew around her sending her hair high into the air.

* * *

Naruto: I can't believe this. What is going on with Hinata? She's continuously snapping at me! What did I do wrong and when did she get so angry and violent? Where's the shy Hinata I know? This mission is really crazy and here I was thinking it would be easy. What's a guy to do?

Hinata: Sukina, watch out!! (pushes the princess out of the way)

Naruto: Hinata get of the way!! (pushes Hinata and the princess out of the way)

Naruto: Here I am rescuing everybody and no one's rescuing me from Hinata's rage. Maybe if I tell her boyfriend, she'll leave me alone but why do the thought of that makes me a bit jealous. Why? Can anyone tell me?

_Next time: Rescue the princess pronto_

* * *

_Well that's it for this chapter. It's pretty long and I had fun writing every aspect of it. Unfortunately, I haven't finished the next chapter but decided to post this one on my birthday which is today. Yay for me, Jan 11, 2010. Well, besides my childish antics, I hope you guys really enjoyed this chapter since it took me quite a few months to write it. You may even notice some changes and I've decided to change other stuff because of certain things that I've read in the manga but my story is not following the manga only certain aspects. I'll edit the previous chapter to reflect the changes I've made in this chapter. Leave a review and let me know your thoughts!!_

_Later_

_~**~PhantasyDreamer~**~_


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